FINCH  AND   BAINES     i 

A  SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY  FRIENDSHIP 


ARCHIBALD   MALLOCH 


\        uNlVf-CSlT'f  OF 


Viyyv\A..a(rn^e4iC'y5>t^ 


FINCH  AND  BAINES 


CAMBRIDGE    UNIVERSITY    PRESS 

C.    F.   CLAY,    Manager 

aonHon:    FETTER    LANE,    E.G. 

eijinbuvsll :    loo,   PRINCES   STREET 


ifttto  gntk:    G.    P.    PUTNAM'S  SONS 

Bombag,  Calcutta  anB  JflaBtas:    MACMILLAN  AND  CO.,  Ltd. 

STotonto:  J.   M.   DENT  AND  SONS,   Ltd. 

Eobgo:   THE   MARUZEN-KABUSHIKI-KAISHA 


All  rights  reseii'ed 


Portrait   by   S.   Van    Hoogstraatcn   of  Anne   Finch,   Viscountess  Conway  (r) 
(The   Royal   Gallei-y,   The   Haijuel 


FINCH    AND    BAINES 


A    SEVENTEENTH    CENTURY     FRIENDSHIP 


BY 

ARCHIBALD    MALLOCH 

B.A.   (Queen's)  ;    M.D.  (McGill)  ;   Temporary  Captain,  Canadian  Army  Medical  Corps 


"Nulla  dies  unquam  memori  nos  eximet  aevo" 

(Virgil  as  adapted  by  Finch) 


Cambridge : 

at   the  University   Press 
1917 


TO    MY    FATHER 

A.  E.  M. 

A  PUPIL   AND   DISCIPLE 

OF 

LISTER 


PREFACE 

A  T  the  suggestion  of  Sir  William  Osier,  Bt.,  F.R.S.,  Regius  Professor 
of  Medicine  at  Oxford,  I  undertook  to  write  the  story  of  the  lives  of 
Sir  John  Finch  and  Sir  Thomas  Baines,  and  it  has  been  a  very  pleasant  but 
quite  a  novel  task. 

The  friendship  of  Sir  John  Finch  and  Sir  Thomas  Baines  would  make  a  very 
interesting  psychological  study  for  one  qualified  for  such  work,  but  I  have 
endeavoured  to  give  merely  "a  plain  unvarnished  tale,"  and  as  far  as  possible 
in  their  own  words. 

The  material  for  this  little  work  has  been  found  largely  in  the  Finch  papers, 
a  report  on  which  is  in  course  of  publication  by  the  Historical  Manuscripts 
Commission,  and  in  the  letters  of  Finch  and  Baines  to  Anne  Viscountess 
Conway  at  the  British  Museum.  Certain  useful  facts  have  been  gleaned  from 
the  Calendars  of  Domestic  State  Papers  of  the  17th  century. 

It  is  a  pleasure  to  acknowledge  my  great  indebtedness  to  Wilfred  Finch, 
Esquire,  the  present  owner  of  Burley-on-the-Hill,  who  has  granted  me  per- 
mission to  photograph  and  publish  the  portraits.  Other  members  of  the  Finch 
family  have  also  rendered  valuable  help  in  many  ways. 

My  warmest  thanks  are  due  to  Mrs  Lomas,  who  is  editing  the  Finch  Report 
for  the  Historical  Manuscripts  Commissioners,  for  she  has  allowed  me  to  take 
advantage  of  her  wide  experience;  and  to  the  Commissioners  themselves  for 
granting  facilities  for  consulting  papers  in  their  custod)\  The  second  volume 
of  the  Finch  Report  is  not  likely  to  be  published  for  some  time  on  account  of 
the  War,  but  for  convenience  of  reference  I  have  been  allowed  to  quote  the 
pages  of  that  volume  on  which  letters  used  by  me  will  appear. 

I  wish  to  express  my  gratitude  to  A.  E.  Shipley,  Esquire,  Sc.D.,  F.R.S., 
Master  of  Christ's  College,  for  many  kindnesses,  and  for  permission  to  have  a 
photograph  taken  of  the  tomb  in  Christ's  College  Chapel ;  to  Dr  Norman  Moore 
lor  valuable  suggestions;    to  Lionel  Cust,  Esquire.  C.V.O..  for  help  with  the 


viii  PREFACE 

portraits  and  permission  to  use  blociis  made  for  the  Burlington  Magazine  from 
my  negatives;  to  Miss  E.  G.  Parker,  Oxford,  for  translations  from  the  Latin; 
to  Charles  Baxter,  Esquire,  for  translations  of  ItaHan  letters ;  to  the  authorities 
in  charge  of  the  MSS.  Room  at  the  British  Museum;  to  Miss  J.  Ogilvie,  late 
of  Somerville  College,  Oxford,  for  valuable  aid  in  arranging  the  material;  and 
to  Captain  W.  W.  Francis  for  help  in  reading  the  proof. 

Also  to  Sir  Wm.  Osier  I  owe  a  great  debt  of  gratitude  for  his  influence, 
which  has  been  a  continual  stimulus.  I  have  gone  to  him  in  every  difficulty  that 
has  confronted  me  in  this  work,  and  in  spite  of  the  immense  demands  on  his 
time  he  has  ever  proved  to  be,  as  he  has  been  called  before,  "the  young  man's 
friend." 

A.  M. 

British  Expeditionary  Force,  France 
2t)th  November,   191 6 


CONTENTS 


CHAP. 

I.  Early  Education 

II.  Tour  through  France 

III.  Education  in  Padua 

IV.  Pisa  . 

V.  England    . 

VI.  Life  in  Florence 
VII.  England  again 

VIII.  Constantinople 

IX.  Death  of  Baines 

X.  Return  of  Finch 

XI.  Finch's  Death,  Burial  and  Will 

Appendix 

Index         ..... 


10 
22 

30 

39 

56 
6i 

71 
11 
79 
83 
85 


LIST   OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 


Portrait  by   S.  Van  Hoogstraaten   of  Anne  Finch 
Viscountess  Conway  (?) 

PLATE 

I.  Finch's  Room  at  Christ's  College 

II.  Monuments  to  Baines  and  Finch  in  the  Aula  Magna 

Padua  {By  kind  fermissioji  of  the  Cambridge  Anti- 
quarian Society)        ...... 

III.  Sir   John    Finch    at    his    Studies,  by   S.  Van   Hoog 

straaten         ....... 

IV.  Portrait  of  Sir  John  Finch       .... 

V.  Portrait  of  Sir  Thomas  Baines 

VI.  Portrait  of  Sir  John  Finch,  by  Carlo  Dolci  . 

VII.  Portrait  of  Sir  Thomas  Baines,  by  Carlo  Dolci 
VIII.  Monument  over  the  Grave  of  Finch  and  Baines 

IX.      Will  of  Sir  John  Finch 


Frontispiece 
opposite  p.     3 

19 

21 

31 
32 
SI 
S3 

79 

80 


CHAPTER    I 

EARLY   EDUCATION 

In  the  summer  of  191 5  a  chance  of  this  War  placed  me  in  charge  of  a  small 
hospital  for  officers  at  Burley-on-the-Hill  in  Rutland.  This  was  for  years  the 
seat  of  the  Earls  of  Winchilsea  and  Nottingham,  whose  family  name  was  Finch. 

It  is  a  house  rich  in  historical  associations  and  contains  a  large  collection 
of  fine  portraits.  Amongst  these  are  several  17th  century  portraits  of  Sir  John 
Finch  and  Sir  Thomas  Baines,  which  are  apparently  the  only  ones  to  be  found 
in  England.  A  valuable  collection  of  family  papers,  many  bearing  on  the  lives 
of  Finch  and  Baines,  was  sent  to  the  Public  Record  Office  several  years  ago 
together  with  note-books  of  these  men. 

Sir  John  Finch  and  Sir  Thomas  Baines  probably  hold  an  unprecedented 
record  in  history  for  close  and  unbroken  friendship.  They  were  both  medical 
men  and  Fellows  of  the  Royal  College  of  Physicians  and  Fellows  of  the  Royal 
Society  in  its  early  days.  They  numbered  Henry  More  and  other  Cambridge 
Platonists  amongst  their  friends,  occupied  important  positions  throughout 
their  lives,  and  by  their  wills  established  themselves  as  great  benefactors  to 
Christ's  College,  Cambridge.  In  addition  Finch  was  connected  by  marriage 
with  William  Harvey,  the  discoverer  of  the  circulation  of  the  blood. 


Thomas  Baines  was  the  elder  of  the  two  friends,  but  of  his  family  and 
early  life  we  know  very  little  except  that  he  was  the  son  of  Richard  Baines  and 
was  born  at  Whaddon  in  Cambridgeshire^,  was  at  school  at  Stortford  under 
Mr  Legh,  and  was  admitted  pensioner  at  Christ's  College  under  Mr  Gell,  5th 
October,  1638,  when  he  was  fourteen  years  of  age.  Reckoning  from  this  the 
date  of  his  birth  must  have  been  1624,  though  it  is  commonly  given  as  1622. 
Two  of  Baines'  brothers,  Richard  and  Francis,  had  already  been  at  Christ's 
College,  having  entered  in  1622  and  1626  respectively.  In  the  year  1642-3 
Baines  took  his  B.A.  degree  and  in  1649  his  M.A. 

John  Finch  was  the  third  son  of  Hencage  Finch,  Recorder  of  the  City  of 
London.     John's  eldest  brother,  Heneage,  afterwards  Lord  Chancellor  Finch 

'  See  Biographical  Register  of  Christ's  College  1505-1905  by  John  Peile,  and  also  History  of  Christ's  College  by 
the  same  author. 


2  EARLY   EDUCATION  [ch. 

and  first  Earl  of  Nottingham,  was  born  at  Heneage  House,  but  I  have  been 
unable  to  determine  the  place  of  birth  of  the  second  and  third  sons,  Francis 
and  John.  According  to  F.  Barnard's  Nativities,  a  manuscript  in  the  possession 
of  Sir  Wm.  Osier,  Bt.,  the  date  of  John's  birth  was  15th  March,  1626.  He 
received  his  early  education  at  Eton  under  Norris^  and  at  Mr  Sylvester's  school 
in  the  parish  of  All  Saints,  Oxford. 

The  accounts  of  John  Finch's  university  career  are  at  variance;  Anthony 
Wood^  wishes  to  show  that  Oxford  was  Finch's  first  love,  whilst  Cambridge 
authorities  do  not  like  to  relinquish  any  claim  they  have  upon  him.  As  Heneage 
Finch  had  already  been  at  Oxford  and  as  Sylvester  was  a  Balliol  man,  it  seemed 
probable  that  Wood  was  correct  in  stating  that,  at  about  the  age  of  15,  Finch 
entered  Balliol  as  a  gentleman  commoner.  The  complete  Register  of  Balliol 
men  never  has  been  published,  but  the  Rev.  Andrew  Clark,  LL.D.,  Fellow  of 
Lincoln  College  and  now  Rector  of  Great  Leighs,  Essex,  has  gone  over  all  the 
registers  (including  the  "  buttery  books")  and  I  have  been  enabled  to  use  his  MS. 
which  clears  up  the  matter  in  question  and  shows  that  Anthony  Wood's  account 
is  accurate.  On  19th  February,  1641-2,  both  Francis  and  John  Finch,  second 
and  third  sons  of  Sir  Heneage  Finch,  Serjeant  at  Law,  were  admitted  as  fellow 
commoners  to  Balliol  and  both  "gave  ,^5  to  Chapel  Fund."  In  1643  both 
men's  names  are  on  the  books  as  fellow  commoners;  September,  1644,  Francis' 
name  does  not  appear  though  John  is  down  as  a  fellow  commoner  but  "  non- 
resident": in  1645  and  1646  John  Finch  is  still  a  fellow  commoner  and  still 
"  non-resident."  During  the  latter  year  there  were  hardly  any  undergraduates, 
owing  to  the  political  disturbances,  and  John  Finch's  name  is  the  only  one  given 
as  fellow  commoner.  F.  Barnard,  Brit.  Mus.  SI.  MSS.  1683,  gives  a  horoscope 
or  "Astrology  Scheme"  of  John  Finch  with  several  principal  facts  of  his  life. 
One  interesting  but  very  brief  statement  runs  "sick  at  Newbury  Fight,"  and 
this  must  refer  to  engagements  in  September,  1643,  or  October,  1644.  Finch 
never  mentions  the  Civil  War,  but  Barnard's  other  statements  are  correct. 
Was  Finch  a  combatant?  In  the  year  1647,  22nd  May,  John  Finch  received 
the  degree  of  B.A. 

Finch's  periods  of  non-residence  at  Balliol  may  be  explained,  for  Joseph 
Foster  in  his  Alumni  Oxonienses  states  that  Finch  was  admitted  as  member  of 
the  Inner  Temple  in  1644;  however,  both  Francis  and  John  (sons  of  Sir  Heneage) 
were  admitted  in  November,  1642^,  but  only  the  former  continued  his  studies 
there.  John  Finch  sought  a  quieter  spot  than  Oxford,  then  garrisoned  by 
Royalist  troops  and  where  there  was  "scarce  the  face  of  an  university  left," 

'  Pelle,  loc.  cil. 

^  Aihenae  et  Fasti  Oxonienses,  2nd  ed.,  Fasti  58. 

^  Members  admitted  to  the  Inner  Temple  1 547-1660,  edited  by  W.  R.  Cooke,  M.A.,  London,  1877. 


i]  EARLY   EDUCATION  3 

so  he  went  to  Christ's  College,  Cambridge,  and  was  admitted  there  as  pensioner 
under  Mr  Potts,  nth  April,  1645,  at  the  age  of  18  or  19.  He  returned  to  Balliol 
and  obtained  his  B.A.,  22nd  May,  1647.  Not  knowing  that  Finch  had  first  gone 
to  Oxford,  Pcile  found  it  difficult  to  explain  why  he  took  his  B.A.  at  Oxford. 
However  during  this  year  Oxford  "was  turned  topsy-turvy  by  the  Visitors^" 
and  Finch  again  went  to  Cambridge,  and  was  incorporated  in  1647  and  had 
Henry  More  as  his  tutor. 

At  Christ's  College  Finch  and  Baines  met  and  thus  began  their  life-long 
friendship.  The  Book  of  Study  Rents  shows  they  were  joint  occupants  of  the 
"second  upper  chamber"  in  the  "southermost"  (?  northernmost)  staircase  of 
the  New  Building,  and  Finch's  arms  are  to  be  seen  to  this  day  in  a  finely  oak- 
panelled  room  of  the  New,  or  Fellows,  Building  (Plate  I).  It  is  most  probable  that 
during  Finch's  second  stage  at  Christ's  College,  he  and  Baines  had  Henry  More,  the 
Platonist  (1614-1687),  as  their  common  tutor,  though  Gell,  Baines'  tutor,  was 
still  in  residence;  for  Potts,  Finch's  former  tutor,  was  no  longer  at  Cambridge, 
having  either  died  or  been  ejected,  and  many  years  later  More  claimed  to  have 
had  them  both  under  his  care^.  Both  Finch  and  Baines  wrote  of  him  as  tutor, 
and  each  left  money  to  More  in  his  will. 

It  is  not  quite  so  Hkely  that  More  introduced  the  young  men  to  each  other, 
as  is  usually  stated,  though  his  relations  with  the  family  of  Finch  were  possibly 
already  intimate.  His  "Heroine  Pupil,"  Anne,  Viscountess  Conway  and  Kil- 
lutagh,  was  the  eldest  (?)  child  of  Heneage  Finch,  Recorder  of  the  City  of  London, 
and  therefore  sister  to  John  Finch ;  and  in  later  years  More  often  visited  her 
country  seat  of  Ragley  in  Warwickshire.  She  was  reputed  the  most  learned 
of  the  "female  metaphysical  writers"  of  England.  In  the  year  1676,  More  was 
persuaded  by  the  Lord  Chancellor,  the  Earl  of  Nottingham,  to  accept  a  prebend 
at  Gloucester  which  however  he  immediately  resigned  to  a  friend^.  John  Finch, 
it  would  seem,  "always  retained  a  High  Veneration  for  the  Person  and  the 
Writings  of  the  Doctor*." 

In  reference  to  the  first  meeting  of  Finch  and  Baines,  Ward  in  his  Lives 
of  the  Professors  of  Greshani  College  writes : 

They  have  a  tradition  at  Christ  College,  that  while  Mr  Finch  was  student  there,  taking 
too  great  liberties,  his  sizar  Thomas  Baynes,  very  tenderly  admonished  him  of  his  misconduct : 
which  at  first  he  resented,  but  upon  reflection  complied  with  his  advice,  and  ever  after  made 
him  his  constant  and  bosom  friend. 

Both  Finch  and  Baines  obtained  the  degree  of  M.A.  at  Cambridge  in  1649. 

1  Wood,  loc.  cit. 

'  Epitaph  on  the  tomb  of  Finch  and  Baines. 

'  Rev.  R.  Ward,  Rector  of  Ingoldsby,  Life  of  Henry  More,  1710. 

«  Rev.  R.  Ward,  loc.  cit. 

1 — 2 


4  EARLY  EDUCATION  [ch.  i 

Dr  George  Rust^  (d.  1670),  who  succeeded  Jeremy  Taylor  as  Bishop  of 
Dromore  (and  ultimately  was  buried  in  the  same  tomb  with  Taylor),  also 
belonged  to  the  Cambridge  Platonist  School,  and  Henry  More  and  John  Finch 
were  among  his  friends  at  Christ's  College.  Finch  probably  retained  his  friend- 
ship for  Rust  and  the  latter  wrote  a  "Discourse  of  Faith"  which  was  pubHshed 
by  James  Colli  with  the  last  edition  of  Joseph  Glanville's  Lux  Orientalis  (1682), 
a  work  on  the  pre-existence  of  souls,  and  was  dedicated  "to  the  Honourable 
Sir  John  Finch  Knight^."  Glanville  was  not  a  Cambridge  man  but  was  a  follower 
of  the  Platonists,  and  this  group  of  men  at  this  time  constituted  a  society  for 
psychical  research,  so  that  Finch  was  probably  not  alone  in  some  of  his  strange 
beliefs  of  which  we  shall  speak  later. 

Soon  after  this  date  Finch  and  Baines  left  England  to  study  medicine  in 
Italy.  About  this  time  they  wrote  some  verses  in  praise  of  the  poems  of 
Mr  William  Cartwright,  "the  most  noted  poet,  orator  and  philosopher  of  his 
time,"  as  Wood  describes  him.  In  165 1,  eight  years  after  Cartwright  had  died, 
at  the  age  of  thirty- two,  a  collection  of  his  poems  was  pubHshed  "ushered  then 
into  the  world  by  many  copies  of  verses  mostly  written  by  Oxford  men^." 
Following  some  verses  by  "Fr.  Finch,  e  Int.  Tempi.,"  comes  the  poem  by  his 
younger  brother  "lo.  Finch,"  entitled  "On  Mr  Cartwright's  Excellent  Poems," 
and  very  fittingly  next  in  order  come  those  by  "Thomas  Baines"  entitled  "Upon 
Mr  Cartwright's  Poems  published  after  his  death."  Later  on  amongst  the  intro- 
ductory verses  are  some  by  "  Iz.  Wa."  The  poems  by  Finch  and  Baines  do  not 
show  much  imagination  in  the  matter,  or  great  skill  in  the  versification  and 
are  not  worthy  of  much  attention.  To  write  verses  of  this  nature  was  a  very 
ordinary  accomphshment  in  those  days,  but  the  poems  merit  passing  notice, 
as  the  authors  never  published  anything  else  either  in  prose  or  verse. 

No  verses  by  Baines  appear  in  the  Burley  papers  except  some  in  Latin  to 
Molinetti,  but  at  the  British  Museum,  in  a  collection  of  contemporary  verses, 
there  are  several  "extracted  from  MS.  of  Dr  Baines"  {Addit.  MSS.  29921)  and 
one  of  these  poems  is  on  friendship. 

1  Did.  of  Nat.  Biog. 

*  Wood,  Atbenae  Oxonienses,  2nd  ed.,  vol.  ii,  p.  665. 

^  "  Comedies  Tragi  Comedies  with  Other  Poems,  by  Mr  William  Cartwright,  late  Student  of  Christ  Church,  Oxford." 
London,  printed  for  Humphrey  Moseley,  1651,  octavo.  Selden's  copy,  to  which  Wood  refers,  is  in  the  Bodleian 
Library. 


CHAPTER    II 

TOUR   THROUGH   FRANCE 

Finch  and  Baines  determined  to  study  abroad,  but  Andrich's^  book  on 
the  English  and  Scottish  students  at  Padua  does  not  give  their  names  until  1654-5. 
However  a  pass  to  travel  into  France  was  granted  in  1651,  as  the  Calendar  of 
State  Papers  for  that  year  shows,  and  the  intervening  period  is  well  covered  by 
the  Conway  papers  (Brit.  Mus.  Addit.  MSS.  23215)  and  by  a  journal  written 
by  John  Finch  which  has  been  published  amongst  the  Finch  papers  by  the 
Historical  Manuscripts  Commission^.  It  deals  with  their  visits  to  "Diepe," 
Rouen,  Paris  and  their  passage  through  Sens,  Dijon,  and  Lyons  to  Geneva. 
The  journal  is  cut  off  short  before  they  reached  Milan.  It  begins  "Wee  set 
out  from  London  October  20,  1651.  Tuesday  21,  we  came  to  Rye,  with  my 
sister  C[onway]  and  brothers  C[onway]  and  F.  F[inch]."  This  young  man 
John  Finch  kept  his  wits  about  him,  and  his  eyes  and  ears  open,  and  was  not 
taken  in  by  some  sly  thieves.  He  grows  delightfully  gossipy  at  times,  especially 
about  "Sir  K.  D[igby],"  whom  he  knew  in  Paris.  In  a  thin  vellum  bound  book, 
which  was  amongst  the  manuscripts  of  Finch  and  Baines  at  Burley-on-the-Hill, 
there  is  on  the  front  page  a  small  table  of  accounts  dated  "Paris  December  17th 
1651." 

From  a  medical  point  of  view  some  passages  in  the  journal  are  quite 
worth  quoting.  Speaking  of  Rouen,  he  says,  "It  is  the  biggest  city  in  France 
next  to  Paris  unlesse  Lyons  stand  in  competition  with  it.  But  it  is  seldome 
free  from  the  plague  by  reason  that  it  is  encompassed  on  every  side  with  hils, 
so  that   the  aire  is  not   free."     They  reached   Paris  Sunday,  November  9-19 

'  DeNalione  Anglica El  Scola  Jurisiarum  Universitalis  Patcvinae,  Scripsit  lo.  Aloys  Andricb,  Patavii  MDCCCXCII 
— Caput  V.  Scholarcs  Anglici  p.  148.  "  MDCLIV-V  d.  loannes  Finchi  anglus  alJias  21" :  "  d.  Thomas  Banes  anglus 
allias  22."  On  p.  150,  in  a  long  list  of  names,  we  find  "  d.  Thomas  Baines  anglus  allias  d.  loanncs  Fineck  anglus 
allias."  This  latter  is  one  of  the  few  instances  in  which  the  usual  order  of  names  is  reversed.  It  will  be  seen  that 
both  names  suffer  changes  and  on  p.  151  there  is  written  "  d.  Thomas  Bain  anglus  allias."  For  "allias"  read 
"otherwise"  or  "entered  elsewhere  also"  as  the  names  are  given  in  the  New  Register.  It  is  seen  here  and  later 
on  p.  18  that  the  bedell  of  the  University  made  many  mistakes  in  writing  down  the  names,  and  the  Latin 
endings  are  marvellous. 

*  Report  on  the  Manuscripts  of  AUcn  George  Fincb  Esq.  of  Burley-on-lhe-Hill,  vol.  i  (cd.  6508),  1913,  p.  59.  Also 
see  letter  from  John  Finch  to  his  sister  Mrs  Conway,  Calendar  of  State  Papers — Domestic  Series  1 651-1652,  p.  205, 
which  describes  incidents  of  hit  trip  from  Paris  to  Lyons. 


6  TOUR  THROUGH   FRANCE  [ch. 

and  remained  there  til]  March   14.     He  compares  the  city  with  London  and 

writes : 

The  streets  are  more  durty  (sic)  than  London,  yet  one  may  walke  cleaner  because  the 
streets  are  better  paved... and  though  Paris  is  situated  so  low  and  all  the  filth  of  the  houses 
emptied  into  the  streets,  yet  the  plague  is  very  rarely  amongst  them;  but  the  diseases 
(which)  are  most  frequent  are  the  dropsy,  shed  stone  and  fievres.  And  the  Paris  physitians, 
be  the  disease  what  it  will,  alwayes  open  a  veine  and  praescribe  a  ptisan  and  a  purge  of  manna. 

Speaking  of  the  Carthusians,  he  says  they 

are  nigh  to  this  [Palais  de  Luxembourg]  who,  though  they  never  eat  no  flesh,  yet  feed  upon 
macreus  (macreuses,  Scotch  barnacles).  They  do  not  allow  Bezar^  because  the  stone  of 
goats,  nor  any  medcin  comming  from  flesh  in  any  case.  To  study  chymistry  is  forbidden 
by  their  statutes  as  Father  Mignet  told  me.  They  pray  at  least  n  hours  in  the  24,  so  that 
they  have  little  time  to  study. 

His  picture  of  the  conditions  obtaining  in  the  hospitals  is  a  strilcing  one. 

The  Hostel  Dieu  for  the  number  of  diseased  is  a  famous  hospital  but  there's  eight  in  a 
bed.  But  the  Charite  is  the  best  accomadated  that  can  be,  as  well  as  any  gentleman  in  his 
own  house.  I  believe  there  is  about  200,  every  man  in  a  bed  singly.  The  paynes  of  those 
religious  persons,  which  tend  them  is  to  be  pitied. 

From  Paris  they  proceeded  to  Sens  and  thence  to  Auxerre,  Noye  (Noyers), 

Dijon,  thence  to  Chalon. 

To  Chalon  we  came  Aprill  6.  which  wee  had  as  little  time  to  see  as  Beaune  (a  pretty  town 
where  there's  the  best  hospital  of  France).  In  Chalon  the  Prince  of  Conde  has  a  small  but 
pretty  house,  and  the  Nostre  Dame  de  Chalon  is  famous  for  miracles  before  whose  shrine 
I  saw  many  crutches  hanged  up  which  they  say  were  the  vota  of  the  healed. ...On  Sunday 
April  4-14  for  i8j^,  I  took  horse  with  the  messenger  for  Geneva  {i.e.  from  Lyons)  but  so 
extreamly  sick  that  I  was,  besides  asthmaticall,  generally  distempered. 

Whilst  in  Geneva  he  writes  "on  Wednesday,  Aprill  7-17,  I  came  to  the  house 
of  Monsieur  Parost  that  married  a  Welch  woman ;  he  was  steward  to  Monsieur 
Beleivre  the  French  Embassadour.  In  three  dayes,  finding  English  beere  and 
conveniences,  after  a  purge  I  was  perfectly  well." 

It  is  very  much  to  be  regretted  that  this  journal  was  not  kept  constantly 
throughout  Finch's  stay  in  Italy.  However  the  journal  is  well  supplemented  by 
the  letters  from  Finch  to  his  sister  which  are  to  be  found  in  manuscript  amongst 
the  Conway  papers  at  the  British  Museum^.  These  letters  are  of  the  most  affec- 
tionate nature  and  show  a  real  love  of  Finch  for  Anne  Conway.  There  must 
have  been  a  constant  interchange  of  epistles  between  the  brother  and  sister 
almost  every  week  up  to  the  time  of  her  death  in  1679;  ^^^  only  one  in  this 
series  from  Anne  to  John  is  preserved.  Some  of  the  letters  are  written  to 
"Dearest  Soule,"  but  the  favourite  term  of  address  is  "Dearest  Dear"  or  "My 
D.D."  They  close  usually  with  the  words  "Your  most  entirely  affectionate 
Brother." 

*  Lapis  bezar,  supposed  antidote  for  poison  (note  in  report  on  MSS.). 
2  Brit.  Mus.  Addit.  MSS.  23215. 


iij  TOUR  THROUGH   FRANCE  7 

Writing  from  Paris  December  l-ii,  165 1,  he  makes  an  interesting  note 
about  Calvin: 

As  I  went  by  the  Colledge  Moyen  built  by  Cardinall  Moyen  I  saw  the  house  which  Calvin 
liv'd  in,  it  is  in  the  close  to  the  Colledge  but  it  is  pull'd  down  to  the  ground  and  none  suffer'd 
to  build  upon  (the)  place  any  more;  which  is  punishment  inflicted  upon  none  but  the  worst 
of  malefactors  as  upon  Ravilliac  a  schollar  of  the  Jesuits  who  stab'd  Henry  the  4th.  But 
Calvin's  house  is  now  made  a  Dunghill. 

In  these  letters  Dr  Harvey  is  mentioned  several  times  and  perhaps  it  is 
better  to  group  together  at  this  point  the  passages  referring  to  him,  although 
the  two  last  are  from  letters  of  a  httle  later  date.  Heneage  Finch  married 
EHzabcth,  daughter  of  William  Harvey's  younger  brother  Daniel,  and  the 
relations  of  the  two  families  must  have  been  quite  intimate.  At  Burley-on- 
the-Hill  were  kept  for  many  years  the  "tabulae  Harveianae"  which  are  dry 
specimens  of  human  blood  vessels  and  nerves.  In  1823  they  were  presented 
to  the  Royal  College  of  Physicians,  by  the  Earl  of  Winchilsea^,  and  only  about 
ten  years  ago  portraits  of  Dr  Harvey,  Mrs  Harvey  and  of  Sir  Daniel  Harvey 
were  lost  in  a  fire  at  Burley.  The  wills  of  Finch  and  Baines  were  put  into  the 
hands  of  Dr  Harvey's  brother.  Sir  Eliab  Harvey  {vide  infra).  William  Harvey's 
last  will  was  signed  in  the  presence  of  Heneage  Finch  and  Francis  Finch  and 
he  left  to  his  "loving  cousin,  Mr  Heneage  Finch  for  his  fair  pains,  counsel  and 
advice  about  the  contriving  of  this  my  will  one  hundred  pounds." 

In  the  letter  from  Paris  just  quoted  Finch  gives  a  remarkable  story  of 
Harvey  which  I  do  not  think  has  ever  been  pubhshed  before. 

I  was  on  Saturday  with  Sir  Kenelme  Digby  where  I  had  some  philosophicall  Discourse; 
and  he  had  heard  of  your  marriage,  but  wondered  with  me  at  the  story  of  Dr  Harvey;  I  must 
confesse  I  have  scarce  faith  enough  to  beleive  {sic)  that  he  would  Cutt  himselfe  but  rather 
beleive  he  voyded  that  stone  you  spoke  of  then  cutt  it  out  for  I  doe  not  see  it  was  possible 
for  him  in  two  dayes  to  be  able  to  goe  abroad  otherwise. 

Although  by  this  time  Harvey  was  an  old  man,  Anne  Conway,  who  was  a 
life-long  invalid,  was  evidently  under  his  care ;  for  Finch  writes  from  Geneva, 
August  i-io,  1652: 

I  grieve  much  you  are  not  yet  dearest  out  of  Dr  Harvey's  hands  for  though  he  is  as 
able  a  person  as  any  I  know,  yet  I  had  rather  you  had  no  reason  for  him  to  exercise  his  skill 
which  I  wonder  hath  been  so  long  time  with  so  little  success. 

Finch,  though  he  had  not  yet  begun  the  study  of  medicine  at  any  university, 
does  not  hesitate  to  finish  his  letter  with  a  great  deal  of  advice  as  to  his  sister's 
health. 

A  year  later  this  young  man  again  takes  an  independent  stand  in  another 

'  Munk's  Roll  Call  of  the  Royai  College  of  Physicians,  vol.  i,  p.  144.     See  p.  36,  and  also  Appendix. 


8  TOUR  THROUGH   FRANCE  [en. 

matter.  He  writes  to  his  brother-in-law  Conway  from  "  Padoua,  October  20-30, 
1653,"  to  the  following  effect: 

As  to  the  Question  whether  there  be  any  such  thing  as  an  Universal!  Medicine  or  not, 
tis  a  thing  I  should  not  like  be  brought  to  speak  of  under  any  Notion  but  that  of  affection; 
for  I  am  so  conscious  to  my  selfe  of  my  owne  weaknesse  that  the  commendations  of  Dr  Harvey 
and  my  other  friends  were  a  strong  argument  for  my  silence  that  I  might  not  forfeit  their 
good  opinion  by  appearing  much  below  their  apprehension :  but  the  motives  to  say  something 
being  the  joynt  desire  of  my  sister  and  yourselfe;  either  of  which  wholy  dispose  of  me,  to 
show  both  my  obedience  and  affection  I  have  added  what  follows. 

Finch's  opinion  of  this  "Universall  Medicine"  will  be  learnt  later.  It  seems 
very  possible  that  Finch  knew  Harvey  personally  and  that  Harvey  suggested 
to  him  that  he  should  go  to  Padua  to  study  medicine. 

Whilst  in  Paris,  Finch  wished  his  letters  addressed  "a  Monsieur  Jean  Finch 
Gentillhomme  Anglais,  demeurant  a  la  maison  de  Mademoiselle  Beaumarche, 
en  la  Riie  Morfondiie,  pres  la  Porte  de  Sainct  Marceau  a  Paris." 

Writing  from  Geneva,  Finch  gives  his  sister  a  description  of  the  town,  and 
in  speaking  of  the  Lake  tells  her  the  tragedy  of  a  man  of  science,  whose  religious 
beliefs  brought  him  to  his  death — the  story  of  Servetus. 

There  were  two  here  executed  for  religion  much  talked  of  whose  story  I  would  not  have 
you  ignorant  of;  One  Servetus  a  great  Schollar  in  his  time  but  of  the  same  opinion  which 
Socinus  after  divulg'd.  He  wrote  to  Mr  Calvin  concerning  these  points,  who  desired  him  to 
come  to  Geneva  and  he  would  give  him  a  safe  convoy.  Servetus  came,  but  instead  of 
disputing  the  buisenesse  if  he  might  receive  satisfaction,  Mr  Calvin  found  him  obstinate  and 
Servetus  thought  to  have  returned  into  Italy  whence  he  came  but  he  was  accused  to  the 
Councell  by  Mr  Calvin  as  an  Apostate  from  Christianity  and  so  burnt. 

It  is  quite  interesting  to  note  that  Finch  does  not  mention  Servetus'  discovery 
of  the  lesser  circulation  of  the  blood  {i.e.  from  the  heart  through  the  lungs  and 
thence  back  to  the  heart),  but  this  was  hidden  away  in  the  midst  of  a  theological 
treatise  by  Servetus  entitled  Christianismi  Restitutio,  1553. 

Finch  gives  the  tale  of  the  other  martyr,  but  the  letter  is  defective  and 
some  of  the  words  are  torn  out. 

...[First  word  torn  and  gone]  Anton[io]  since  Mr  Calvin's  time  was  a  Man  that  studied 
the  Civill  Law,  at  length  he  ...Id  have  chang'd  his  Religion  and  turn'd  Jew.  The  Jewes 
would  not  admit  him  in  the  Synagogue,  he  lived  at  Nancy  in  Lorrain,  and  found  to  be  of 
the  Religion  and  [w]as  and  recommended  to  be  Parson  of  Versoy  a  town  upon  the  Lake  a 
mile  [from]  Geneve  he  Preach'd  there  a  year  and  the  Lord  of  the  Town  a  scollar,  observ'd 
he  never  made  no  mention  of  Jesus  Christ  and  so  begun  to  Question  his  faith  which  he 
find... one  night  in  his  shert  came  in  the  snow  to  Geneve  where  being  stopt  by  the  Guard  he 
told  them  that  he  was  a  Jew  and  that  that  was  the  only  Religion. ..be  sav'd...and  that  he 
would  wish  them  to  become  so,  he  was  committed  to  Bed[lam]...[torM]  being  not  mad 
was  Condemn'd  to  be  burnt  as  he  went  to  the  sta[ke]...[/or«]  out  of  a  cloud  which  he  took 
for  a  Miracle  and  exhorted  all  the  People  to  be  Jewes  and  spoke  many  blasphemous  words 
and  so  di[ed].  Dearest  I  begin  to  find  my  paper  draw  to  an  end  and  therefore  I  must  come 
to  a  conclusion. 


II]  TOUR  THROUGH  FRANCE  9 

These  letters  as  a  rule  contain  some  affectionate  messages  to  Conway  and 
to  Henry  More:  "present  my  humble  service  to  Mr  More  and  excuse  my  not 
writing  to  him  which  you  may  justly  do  since  I  have  scarce  time  to  end  this 
but  that  I  am  rejoysed  to  lay  aside  all  things  in  order  to  you..."  and  neither 
Finch  nor  Baines  forgets  to  send  remembrances  to  "Mrs  Sarah,"  Anne  Conway's 
"library  keeper,"  so  that  in  all  probability  they  had  stayed  with  the  Conways 
before  they  left  England.  John  Worthington  (1618-1671)  was  a  friend  of  More 
and  Anne  Conway.  In  his  will  he  left  to  several  people  "aoj.  to  buy  a  ring"; 
amongst  them  was  his  niece  "Sarah  Worthington."  It  seems  very  probable 
that  "Mrs  Sarah"  and  his  niece  were  one  and  the  same  person. 


CHAPTER    III 

EDUCATION   IN   PADUA 

Finch  and  Baines  reached  Padua  in  due  course  and  began  the  study  of 
medicine,  but  their  letters  give  us  little  idea  of  the  life  at  the  University  at  that 
time,  or  of  their  particular  work.  Anne  Conway  was  instructed  to  send  letters 
"al  Georgio  il  Bedello-della  natione  Inglese."  Baines  was  very  fond  of  writing 
descriptions  of  the  trees  and  fruits  of  the  country  and  of  comparing  them  with 
those  of  England.  The  weather  also  interested  him  greatly  at  times;  their 
first  winter  was  cold,  and  he  wonders  much  at  this  when  he  hears  that  the 
season  was  a  warm  one  in  England : 

Surely  wee  may  justly  expect  a  distemper  in  this  great  animal  the  World,  when  shee 
is  so  praeternaturally  cold  in  these  parts  neere  the  heart,  the  sunne  I  mean,  and  so  unreason- 
ably warme  at  the  very  same  time  in  her  extremities. 

In  Finch's  letters  to  his  sister  there  are  some  interesting  passages  about 
the  alchemist  Van  Helmont,  the  younger.  In  later  years  Van  Helmont  spent 
much  of  his  time  at  Ragley  and  indeed  was  there  when  Anne  Conway  died,  but 
at  this  time  she  was  seeking  everywhere  a  cure  for  the  headaches  that  troubled 
her  so  much  throughout  all  her  life,  and  she  wrote  to  John  Finch  about  Helmont 
and  his  universal  medicine  as  she  wished  to  cross  over  to  Holland  to  consult 
him.     Finch  replied  to  her  enquiries  in  October,   1652: 

...I  shall  again  to  fulfill  your  desires  tell  you  my  thoughts  on  all  the  Particulars  you 
mention.  I  told  you  our  Anatomy  Professor,  a  Venetian,  informed  me  that  Ottho  Janckenius 
was  dead,  but  upon  further  enquiry  I  was  the  day  after  I  sent  away  my  last  inform'd  he  was 
alive.  Whereupon  I  wrote  a  long  Latin  letter  to  him  to  know  whether  he  was  the  Person 
that  sett  out  Van  Helmonts  workes  assuring  him  that  then  I  would  wayt  upon  him  to  know 
whether  he  knew  any  great  cures  effected  by  young  Helmont,  and  particularly  in  the  headach, 
or  whether  he  knew  young  Helmont  pretended  to  an  Universall  Medicine.  To  all  which  he 
returned  me  a  civill  reply  in  Latin  and  told  me  he  was  that  man  sett  out  that  edition  of  Van 
Helmont,  but  as  for  cures  effected  by  Helmont  at  Venice,  he  knew  none  though  he  was 
intimate  with  the  young  man,  except  a  feavour  after  Nature  had  made  the  Orifis  by  Anti- 
mony fixed,  which  saith  he,  was  owed  rather  to  Nature  than  his  Ars,  nay  sayth  he  to  speak, 
as  I  ought,  in  a  matter  of  so  great  importance:  He  is  a  very  ignorant  Person  and  though 
I  have  diligently  observed  him  I  never  knew  him  speake  or  doe  anything  extraordinary. 

I  told  my  Brother  Conway  in  my  last  that  young  Helmont  had  done  two  Cures  on 
feavours  as  Moretus  the  Mathematique  Professor  told  me  but  Jackening  knowes  but  of  one 
he  tells  me  and  that  was  done  by  Nature  to  the  young  mans  hand.  I  enquired  of  a  German 
concerning  him  and  he  told  me  that  five  of  them  Drs  in  Physick  made  it  their  businesse  to 
know  what  [grjeat  matters  had  been  effected  by  Helmont  but  that  they  found  Nothing  in 


CH.  Ill]  EDUCATION   IN   PADUA  ii 

all  their. ..[torn]  [wjorth  mentioning  save  that  at  Augusta  invited  to  dinner  by  a  Margrave 
he  [and  the  MJargrave  both  dranke  themselves  sick,  and  that  he  then  gave  Physick  to  the 
Margrave  which  had  like  to  have  lost  him  his  life  whereupon  the  friends  of  the  Margrave  had 
killed  him  but  that  the  Margraves  Confessour  carried  him  out  of  the  Citty  upon  his  own 
Horse  young  Helmont  riding  behind  him  for  his  security. 

I  told  you  last  weeke  of  two  persons  cured  by  Sir  Ken.  Digby  whom  the  Father  had 
not  cured  and  therefore  the  Father  himselfe  had  no  such  universall  remedies,  he  having 
described  five  hundred  besides  that  universall,  which  were  it  ef?ectuall  the  use  were  super- 
fluous. I  added  that  neither  Helmont  nor  any  man  Hving  ever  pretended  to  cure  all  sorts 
of  Tumors  and  Ulcers  by  the  same  medicine;  but  that  which  heales  one  Gangrenes  another 
and  inward  diseases  arising  from  the  same  cause  which  outward  doe  tis  impossible  to  cure 
them  by  the  same  medicine  unlesse  somebody  can  assure  Mee  that  he  can  Cure  a  Cancer  by 
the  same  remedies  he  does  bring  a  Phlegmon  to  suppuration,  or  that  cold  and  hott  distempers 
are  both  cured  by  the  same  things :  which  if  any  man  thinkes  he  may  reconcile  all  the 
Contrarieties  in  nature,  it  being  impossible  to  introduce  a  disease  because  the  same  thing 
that  causes  it  would  at  the  same  time  be  its  Cure. 

Van  Helmont  sayes  that  one  Butler,  an  Irishman,  had  this  Universall  Medicine.  I  am 
sure  I  never  in  all  my  life  time  heard  one  word  of  Any  such  man,  indeed  there  was  a  Butler 
at  Cambridge  a  rare  man  but  he  had  none  of  those  secrets  I  am  sure  Or  else  Crane  his 
Apothecary  had  never  gotten  £1500.  per  annum  by  his  bills.  Things  return  in  a  Circle  wee 
admire  them  beyond  sens  and  they  us  and  to  speake  freelv  my  Dearest  I  never  yet  found  any 
thing  since  my  travell  Equall  to  the  Report  I  have  heard  made  of  it  but  all  men  have  a 
levity  of  spirit  upon  them  to  extoll  and  increase  what  pleases  them  and  diminish  what  they 
dis...[turn].  If  you  would  have  me  speake  plainly  to  you,  Helmont  shall  alwayes  be  more 
prized  where  he  is  not,  than  where  he  is.... 

Finch  continues  that  the  voyage  itself  to  the  Low  Countries  may  do  his 
sister  good  even  if  there  Van  Helmont  can  achieve  nothing.  Helmont  at  this 
time  is  always  treated  with  scant  courtesy  by  Finch  who  determined  to  go  and 
see  him  in  Germany: 

Since  that  I  am  told  by  two  Gentlemen  of  Bruxells  that  young  Helmont  is  not  there, 
but  that  he  is  at  this  Present  with  the  Elector  of  Luxenburgh  at  Sarisburgh,  some  two  dayes 
journey  from  Trent,  and  about  five  dayes  journey  from  Padoua :  so  soone  as  I  am  assured  of 
this  which  I  expect  this  night  or  tomorrow:  Mr  Baines  and  I  will  make  a  journey  thither  on 
purpose. 

Soon  after  this  Finch  and  Baines  made  a  short  tour  to  Milan  and  Bologna, 
and  writing  from  Padua,  December  4-14,  1652,  after  their  return,  he  tells  how 
he  sought  there  to  cure  Anne  of  her  headache  and  at  the  same  time  reveals 
the  fact  of  his  superstition. 

The  Church  of  St  Peter  the  Martyr  is  observable,  Aquinas  wrote  a  copy  of  verses  as  he 
passed  that  way  for  his  epitaph,  under  the  canopy  of  his  tomb  there  are  three  coffins  of 
Marble  which  if  one  kisses  they  are  free  from  the  headache,  your  servant  and  I  kissed  them 
on  your  behalf;    I  wish  the  remedy  may  succeed.... 

It  is  generally  stated  that  Finch  was  Consul  of  the  English  nation  at  the 
University  of  Padua;  but  this  seems  hardly  likely  in  view  of  the  manner  in 
which  he  expresses  himself  on  this  point  in  1652: 

My  Dearest,  Mr  Baines  wrote  thee  word  I  refused  to  be  ConsuU  of  the  English  Nation 
at  Padova  although  I  was  so  importuned  to  it  that  I  was  afraid  of  being  forced  unlesse  I  had 


12  EDUCATION   IN    PADUA  [ch. 

prevented  it  by  a  design,  I  doe  assure  thee  tvvas  impossible  for  me  to  have  had  that  office 
unlesse  I  would  have  been  drunk  at  least  40  times  in  the  year. 

At  this  time  (1652)  Finch  began  to  send  to  his  sister  and  brother-in-law 
long  "Discourses"  on  philosophical  and  scientific  subjects.  In  one  of  these 
"discourses"  there  is  a  very  curious  account  "Of  the  Manner  by  which  Trees 
Plants  and  all  Vegetables  are  Nourished."  It  begins  with  the  extraordinary 
statement  that  "Trees  and  plants  are  nourished  not  by  the  Root  but  by  the 
Bark,"  and  closes  with  an  interesting  passage : 

If  it  be  urged  further  that  Plants  are  Nourished  by  the  Root  because  that  In  the  Spring 
and  Summer  their  sap  rises,  and  in  the  Winter  it  falls,  which  those  that  sell  timber  precisely 
observe  and  therefore  sell  it  in  September,  and  likewise  at  the  full  of  the  Moon  the  sap  rises 
more  than  in  the  wain :  and  hence  Physitians  in  their  praescriptions  in  the  Winter  time 
alwayes  prescribe  Roots  and  in  the  Spring  time  the  Leaves  but  not  in  the  Autumne.  To 
this  I  must  reply  that  in  those  Creatures  where  there  is  a  perfect  circulation  of  the  blood  wee 
discern  the  same  effects  and  that  the  sap  does  not  circulate  by  comming  from  the  barke  to 
the  Root. 

In  our  selves  we  find  that  Vomits  worke  more  in  the  Spring  then  Winter,  That  wee 
are  subject  to  sweating.  That  our  brain  and  all  our  humours  doe  increase  and  decrease  with 
the  Moone:  But  more  particularly,  Beares  all  the  Winter  long  sleep  in  their  Dens  and  eat 
nothing  when  the  sap  is,  as  it  were,  driven  to  the  Root,  but  in  the  Spring  when  the  Sun  has 
its  new  vigour  they,  like  plants,  have  their  Resurrection  and  yet  there  was  in  them,  shutt 
in  their  dens,  the  same  circulation  there  was  before  and  after,  although  not  so  vigourous 
in  the  one  as  to  keep  them  wakeing  nor  in  the  Plants  as  to  keep  them  flourishing.  Tortoises 
Cuckows  and  swallows  and  all  sorts  of  Insects  as  Flies  bees  etc.  are  nipt  by  the  Winter  and 
like  Plants  have  their  sap  retire  to  their  Root  for  they  show  forth  no  Exteriour  Vitall  Actions, 
but  at  the  Spring  they  show  by  their  singings  and  Motions  they  are  newly  reviv'd  as  well 
as  Plants  by  their  buds,  and  to  speake  truth  what  the  heart  is  in  sensitive  Creatures  the  same 
thing  is  the  basis  in  a  Plant,  and  the  driving  of  the  sap  to  the  Root  is  the  same  which  the 
diminution  of  Naturall  heat  is  in  an  Animall  which  hath  sense,  and  its  necessity  and  goeing 
underground  for  shelter. 

Lastly  it  moves  me  much  to  be  of  this  Opinion  what  I  and  Mr  Baines  observed  in  passing 
Mount  Sampion,  Wee  saw  a  Firr  Tree  grow  out  of  the  Top  of  a  great  peice  of  a  Rock  which 
had  fallen  down  nay  it  grew  out  of  the  very  Top  of  the  Stone  as  if  it  had  risen  out  of  a  Table, 
so  that  there  was  not  the  least  imaginable  Earth  which  could  give  it  Nourishment,  so  that 
of  Necessity  it  must  be  Nourished  from  its  tender  Tops  of  the  branches  and  indeed  upon  all 
those  hills  there  is  nothing  but  continued  Rocks  of  stone  and  yet  no  place  can  be  fuller  of 
Trees. 

Harvey's  book  Exercitatio  Anatomica  De  Motu  Cordis  et  Sanguinis  in  Anima- 
libus  was  pubHshed  at  Frankfort  in  1628,  and  any  references  to  the  circulation 
within  25  years  after  this  date  are  always  full  of  interest — as  they  show  the 
growth  of  an  idea.  In  his  argument  Finch  observed  part  of  the  truth  but 
depends  too  much  upon  analogies  between  vegetable  and  animal  life. 

Finch  writes  from  Venice  lo-20th  February,  1652-3,  about  the  "Discourses" ; 
his  sister  was  evidently  stimulating  the  young  man  in  his  studies : 

You  may  thinke  dearest  that  I  have  fayled  your  expectation  in  that  I  have  not  sent 
you  any  discourse  of  consequence,  seriously  I  have  severall  on  the  Anvill,  and  I  cannot  finish 


in]  EDUCATION   IN    PADUA  13 

any  yet  fitt  for  you  to  read,  for  I  shall  study  for  your  satisfaction  as  much  as  my  own.... 
Pray  present  my  services  to  Mr  More  and  let  me  know  what  he  insists  on  in  his  booke  and  the 
dedication  to  you. 

There  was  later  great  consternation  and  much  writing  about  one  part  of  these 
"Discourses"  which  miscarried  in  1667,  but  fortunately  Finch  had  numbered 
the  pages  and  kept  a  copy.  Thus  he  was  able  to  transcribe  it,  although  he  com- 
plained of  the  length  of  time  required  to  do  this.  For  many  years  Finch  kept 
up  this  practice  of  sending  these  essays  to  England.  Henry  More,  in  his 
letters  to  Anne  Conway,  writes  of  the  discourses  which  she  had  sent  on  to  him 
to  read. 

As  early  as  the  year  165 1-2  Finch  was  interested  in  Descartes  and  writes 
to  Anne  Conway  (vide  Cal.  Dom.  Papers  for  that  year)  : 

...I  sent  you  3  of  Descartes  Principles  [Amsterdam  1644]  by  Mr  Ayres,  and  hope  you 
have  sent  2  to  Cambridge  and  kept  the  3rd  for  yourselfe.  There  was  another  MS.  which 
will  do  you  no  harm  to  peruse... if  you  are  in  your  Mathematicks. 

Henry  More  devoted  many  years  of  his  life  to  the  study  of  Descartes,  and 
although  at  first  he  looked  on  it  very  favourably,  in  later  years  he  severely 
criticized  Descartes'  Natural  Philosophy.  Finch  in  the  following  criticism  is 
chiefly  concerned  with  Descartes'  mathematics.  It  is  expressed  in  a  letter  in 
May,  1658: 

...As  to  Descartes  my  Dear  I  would  with  all  my  heart  that  I  could  thinke  his  Philosophy 
as  true  as  coherent :  but  coherency  is  no  argument  for  he  must  be  a  man  of  mean  parts,  that 
forgetts  himselfe  so  far  as  to  make  one  deduction  contradict  another.  In  short,  most  of 
Descartes  I  looke  on  as  the  old  Philosophy  in  new  names.... 

Finch  and  Baines  only  mention  one  of  their  teachers  at  Padua  and  this  was 
Mohnetti,  the  Professor  of  Anatomy.  In  1649  ^^  succeeded  VesHngius  in  the 
chair  which  had  been  occupied  by  Vesalius,  Fallopius  and  Fabricius  ab  Aqua- 
pendente.  He  was  the  author  of  Dissertationes  anatomico-fathologicae,  Venet. 
1675,  4°,  and  in  this  same  year  was  the  first  to  operate  on  the  antrum  of  Highmore 
through  the  cheek^.  He  was  distinguished  in  the  practice  of  medicine  and  also  is 
said  to  have  discovered  the  seventh  of  the  group  of  extrinsic  muscles  of  the  eye^. 

In  one  of  his  note-books  Finch  copied  out  a  very  curious  Latin  poem 
which  might  have  been  composed  by  one  of  the  Mystics.  It  was  written  by 
Baines  in  praise  of  this  Venetian  Mohnetti,  and  is  headed  by  the  words  : 
"Charissimi  Thomae  Baines  equitis  Aurati /Carmina  in  Anatomicas  Molinetti/ 
dissectiones  Patavii  Pubhce  peractas  /  ab  Antonio  Molinetto  rei  Anatomicae 
primario  professore,  1652." 

1  Haeser,  Lebrbucb  der  Gacbicbte  der  Medizin,  Bd.  11,  S.  692. 
*  Bayle,  Biograpbie  Medicale,  T.  11,  p.  20. 


14  EDUCATION   IN    PADUA  [ch. 

Stupenda  \ddimus!    et  quod  est  stupendius 
Quot  carnis  offae,  quot  concisa  frustula, 
Tot  extiterunt  veritatis  martyres. 
Qui  ne  sepulchro  destituantur  nobili 
Fiamus  urnae  comites  atque  has  reliquias 
Tanquam  sacra  Naturae  servemus,  ut  brevi 
Tot  sint  sepulchra  quot  vivorum  pectora. 
Molinette  sic  decet  queis  admoves  manum 
Tractare  corpora,  quamvisque  sint  emortua, 
Peccamus,  ulterius  si  pateremur  mori. 

Sad  filiorum  sentias  clemens  Pater 
Dukes  querelas,  quas  vagientes  proferunt. 
^nigmaes  omnes  solvis,  et  nectis  nodos. 
Desinimus  admirari  hominem,  at  novus  labor: 
Incipimus  unum  obstupescere  Molinettum. 
Qui  flexuosos  sanguinis  dum  tramites 
Agilemque  cursum  permeatus  lubricos 
Scrutaris,  en  sanguis  correptus  extasi 
Stat  piger  in  venis,  nescitque  progredi 
Quia  cum  stupore  viderat  motum  suum. 
Sic  pertinaces  improbamus  omnia. 
Cur?    quippe  quod  Tu  luculentius  probas 

Dissectiones  laudent  queis  placent  tuas; 
Parcius  oportet  istas:    nam  me  judice 
Non  dissecas  Molinette  sed  adornas  corpora; 
Et  sordibus  remotis,  in  crus  integrum 
Producis  in  Theatrum,  et  sequaces  musculi 
Solvuntur  ad  tactum;    sic  non  Te  Anatomicum 
Praestas  sed  id  quod  abunde  magis  est,  Deum. 

Natura  olim  prodigiorum  frusta  parens 
Effaeta  quorsum  monstra  non  cudis  nova  ? 
Nubes  fugantur,  lacteae  fulgent  viae, 
Chylumque  priscam  molientem  fugam 
MoHnettus  intercepit,  et  thalamis  tuis 
Saepe  salientem  deprehendit  sanguinem 
In  circulare  motu:    et  ille  publice 
Ostendit  arcanum  prorsus  connubium^ 
Arteriarum  cum  venis,  ut  oscula 
Fixere  dulcia,  mutuisque  amplexibus 
Laetantur  indies,  unde  emersit  Tua 
Numerosa  proles  tot  per  elapsa  saecula^. 

Vesica  duplex,  musculus  monstrum  triplex 
Nihil  valebant,  risit  ad  minutias: 
Age  igitur  6  Potens  Dea !  res  urget  novi 
Locate  statim  corporis  fundamina. 
Novos  vocamus  ductus  et  vitae  nova 
Principia;    quod  dignus  est  majoribus 
MoHnettus  ausis  et  meliori  carmine. 

1  "Hae  Anastomoses  manifestissimae  sunt,  in  Vasis  praeparantibus  et  plexu  choroide." 

2  "In  ilia  dissectione  raonstrabat  duplicem  vesicam.     Et  musculus  brachii  biceps  erat  Triceps." 


Ill]  EDUCATION   IN   PADUA  15 

Which  might  be  translated  : 

Poems  of  the  most  beloved  Sir  Thomas  Baines,  Knight,  on  the  anatomical  dissections 
publicly  performed  by  Antonio  Molinetti,  Professor  primarius  of  Anatomy,  at  Padua,  1652. 

We  have  seen  stupendous  things,  and,  what  is  more  stupendous,  as  many  were  the 
morsels  of  flesh,  as  many  as  were  the  clean-cut  fragments,  so  many  witnesses  of  Truth  appeared. 
And  that  these  may  not  lack  an  honourable  sepulchre,  let  us  become  companions  to  the 
funeral  urn,  let  us  preserve  these  things  as  sacred  things  of  Nature,  so  that,  in  short  there  may 
be  as  many  graves  for  them  as  there  are  breasts  of  living  men.  Thus,  Molinetti,  it  behoves 
us  to  treat  the  bodies  to  which  you  apply  your  hand,  and,  dead  though  they  may  be,  we 
should  sin  should  we  suffer  them  to  die  again. 

But  hear,  kind  Father,  the  gentle  complainings  of  thy  children,  which  they  lisp  forth. 
You  solve  all  enigmas,  and  you  weave  knots.  We  cease  to  wonder  at  man;  but  a  new  labour 
arises:  we  begin  to  be  amazed  at  Molinetti  alone.  While  you  search  the  supple  pathways 
of  the  blood,  its  nimble  course,  its  slippery  passages,  behold  our  own  blood  seized  with  ecstasy, 
halts  inert  in  our  veins,  and  cannot  advance,  because  it  had  seen  with  wonder  its  own  motion. 
Thus  we  obstinately  blame  everything.     Why  ?     Because  you  prove  too  lucidly. 

Let  those  to  whom  they  are  pleasing  praise  your  dissections.  These  things  should  be  done 
more  sparingly;  in  my  judgment,  you  do  not  dissect  bodies,  Molinetti,  but  adorn  them.  You 
bring  them  into  the  Theatre  cleansed  from  all  dirt,  perfect  in  limb,  and  the  obedient  muscles  are 
freed  at  your  touch ;  thus  you  show  yourself  not  an  anatomist,  but,  what  is  far  greater,  a  god. 

Nature,  who  was  formerly  the  parent  of  prodigies,  why  art  thou  now  exhausted,  why 
dost  thou  not  shape  new  monsters .?  The  clouds  are  dispersed,  the  milky  ways  shine  forth ; 
Molinetti  intercepts  the  chyle  as  it  endeavours  to  continue  its  ancient  flight,  and  often  he 
stays  the  blood  as  it  issues  from  thy  chambers  in  its  circular  course :  and  he  shows  pubhcly  the 
secret  marriage  of  the  arteries*  with  the  veins,  how  they  exchange  sweet  kisses,  and  rejoice 
daily  in  mutual  embracements,  whence  has  arisen  thy  numerous  progeny  throughout  past  ages. 

A  double  bladder-  and  an  unnatural  triple  muscle  were  of  no  use,  he  laughed  at 
such  trifles :  come  therefore,  oh  mighty  goddess,  it  behoves  at  once  to  lay  the  foundations 
of  a  new  body.  We  call  for  new  ducts  and  new  principles  of  life;  Molinetti  is  worthy  of 
greater  deeds  and  a  better  song. 

In  those  days  teachers  of  anatomy  used  public  demonstrations  as  Harvey 
did  in  England  in  his  Lumleian  Lectures.  Pepys  in  his  Diary,  27th  February, 
1662-3,  gives  a  very  interesting  description  of  the  whole  ceremony  of  such  a 
demonstration  as  he  saw  it  some  years  later.  The  "theatre"  which  Baines 
refers  to  is  probably  the  one  erected  in  Padua  in  1593  by  the  Seigneury  of  Venice 
as  a  tribute  to  Fabricius,  when  thirty  years  of  his  professorship  had  passed. 

Bound  together  with  the  letters  of  Henry  More  to  Anne  Conway,  which 
were  bequeathed  to  the  British  Museum  by  the  Hon.  John  Wilson  Croker  in 
i860*,  is  a  small  slip  of  paper  on  which  is  written  an  account  of  the  circulation 
of  the  blood.  It  is  undated  and  unsigned  and  there  is  no  reference  to  the  docu- 
ment in  the  next  letter,  which  bears  the  date  23rd  March,  1666-7.  But  it  is 
in  the  hand  of  John  Finch  and  resembles  most  closely  his  writing  between  the 
years  1653  and  1663.  At  this  period  he  was  more  concerned  with  the  study 
of  Anatomy  than  in  later  years.     In  the  year  1 661,  Malpighi  with  the  aid  of  the 

'  "These  anastomoses  are  most  manifest  in  the  vessels  of  preparations  and  in  the  choroid  plexus." 
•    "In  that  dissection  he  showed   a   double  bladder,  and   the  biceps  of  the  arm  was  a  triceps  I"     These 
notes  are  by  Baines  or  Finch.  ^  Brit.  Mus.  Addii.  MSS.  23216. 


i6  EDUCATION   IN    PADUA  .   [en. 

microscope  discovered  how  the  blood  reaches  the  small  veins  from  the  terminal 
arteries.  But  since  Finch  does  not  make  use  of  this  new  knowledge,  we  must 
assume  that  his  account  of  the  circulation  was  written  before  that  date. 

He  ranges  himself  on  the  side  of  Harvey,  but  it  is  interesting  to  note  relics 
of  the  pre-Harveian  idea  that  the  blood  ebbed  and  flowed  in  both  the  arteries 
and  veins.  It  took  time  for  men  to  follow  up  the  Master's  doctrine  to  all  its 
definite  conclusions.  The  heart  lies  at  the  point  of  contact  of  two  circles,  the 
greater  and  lesser  vascular  systems,  and  the  blood  flows  only  in  one  direction 
in  the  blood  channels.  Finch  makes  use  of  the  expression  "into  all  the  arteries 
from  the  body,"  when  in  reaHty  he  knows  that  the  blood  in  the  arteries  always 
flows  from  the  heart  to  all  parts  of  the  body.  He  shows  a  similar  lack  of  definite- 
ness  in  his  description  of  the  veins,  for  he  speaks  of  their  being  ^^  diverted  into 
the  whole  body,"  instead  of  saying  that  the  blood  flows  from  the  whole  body 
and  is  gathered  up  in  two  great  veins. 

Galen  regarded  the  liver  as  the  centre  of  the  venous  system  and  to  this  view 
Finch  would  seem  to  adhere,  if  it  is  forgotten  that  we  are  all  slaves  to  words  and 
phrases.  In  science  traditional  descriptions  of  structures  are  often  retained, 
though  our  knowledge  of  their  function  may  have  greatly  advanced.  Now-a- 
days  text-books  of  Anatomy  often  describe  the  course  of  nerve  fibres  or  tracts, 
in  a  manner  irrespective  of  the  direction,  in  which  Physiology  teaches  us,  the 
impulse  travels.  Thus  the  subject  is  made  more  difficult  for  the  student  than 
if  structure  and  function  were  taught  at  one  and  the  same  time. 

Of  the  Circulation  of  the  Blood. 

The  Circulation  of  the  Blood  is  the  passing  of  the  Blood  from  the  heart  into  the  Arteries, 
from  the  Arteries  into  the  Veines  from  the  Veines  into  the  heart  againe. 

In  the  heart  there  are  two  Ventricles  or  Concavities :  the  right  and  the  left.  The  blood 
passes  from  the  right  Ventricle  into  the  lungs  by  the  Arterious  Veine  from  the  lungs  by  the 
Venous  Artery  into  the  left  Ventricle  of  the  heart  and  from  the  Left  Ventricle  into  the  great 
Artery  and  from  thence  into  all  the  arteries  from  the  body. 

On  the  side  of  each  ventricle  there's  a  purse :  which  is  called  the  eares  of  the  heart, 
that  on  the  right  ventricle  is  made  by  the  Vena  Cava,  that  on  the  left  ventricle  by  the  Venous 
Artery:  From  these  two  Auricles  the  right  and  left  Ventricle  doe  receive  the  blood  which 
they  expell  out,  the  right  ventricle  into  the  lungs:    the  left  ventricle  into  the  great  Artery. 

The  Arterious  Veine  arises  from  the  right  ventricle  of  the  heart,  it  is  improperly  called 
a  Veine  because  it  hath  a  pulse,  which  none  the  lesse  the  Arteries  have :  The  Venous  Artery 
is  improperly  so  called  also:  because  it  is  a  perfect  veine,  it  having  no  pulse  which  all 
arteries  have  and  it  carrying  blood  from  the  lungs  into  the  heart  which  none  but  the  veines 
doe:  and  therefore  also  the  Arterious  Veine  is  an  artery  because  it  carries  away  the  blood 
from  the  heart. 

An  artery  is  a  white  hard  substance  made  up  of  many  hard  skins  that  it  might  be  able 
to  keepe  in  the  blood  which  would  otherwise  force  a  passage;  for  if  you  cutt  an  artery,  the 
blood  will  break  out  so  forceably  that  you  cannot  possibly  stop  it.  The  blood  of  the  arteries 
is  of  a  fresher  colour  then  that  of  the  veines,  the  reason  is  this.  The  blood  passes  through 
the  lungs  immediately  before  it  goes  into  the  arteries,  now  it  is  strained  through  the  lungs  as 
through  a  sponge,  and  besides,  the  Aire  the  lungs  draw  within,  so  abates  the  heat  of  it  and 


Ill]  EDUCATION   IN   PADUA  17 

purges  it  from  grosse  vapours,  that  it  makes  it  of  a  fresh  colour,  for  heat  makes  it  dark  as 
you  may  see  in  bulls  and  in  men  that  have  a  hott  liver,  and  this  purging  of  the  blood  is  the 
principall  end  of  its  Circulation.  Any  arteries  come  from  the  great  Artery,  which  rises 
from  the  left  ventricle  of  the  heart.  A  veine  is  a  darker  kind  of  substance  made  up  of  thinner 
membranes  then  the  arteries:  The  veines  doe  all  rise  from  the  liver,  from  the  Venae  Cava 
and  the  Vena  Portae  and  so  are  diverted  into  the  whole  bodie ;  the  blood  when  it  comes  into 
the  small  veines  from  the  arteries  which  are  joyned  to  them  in  the  extremities,  goes  into  the 
liver  and  from  them  by  the  Venae  Portae  too,  it  sends  its  blood  into  the  Vena  Cava  and 
from  the  Vena  Cava  it  goes  into  the  right  auricle  to  the  heart,  and  through  the  right  auricle 
into  the  right  ventricle  and  goes  by  the  Arterious  Veine  into  the  lungs. 

Finch  had  been  very  ill  in  Geneva  on  the  way  to  Padua,  and  in  a  letter  in 

1653  to  his  sister  he  describes  another  illness.     The  treatment  he  received  is 

perhaps  worth  noting ;   also  the  letter  at  the  same  time  shows  Baines'  devotion 

to  Finch: 

I  did  some  few  dayes  since  never  thinke  to  have  beene  able  to  have  written  you  word 
of  my  health,  for  on  Nov.  18-28  it  pleas'd  God  to  visitt  me  with  the  bitterest  fitt  of  sicknesse 
that  I  ever  underwent,  I  was  sett  upon  by  a  Squinancy  and  its  constant  companion  a  Feavour 
which  in  me  was  more  violent  than  ordinary,  and  a  violent  distillation,  the  second  day  after 
I  fell  sick  I  was  not  able  to  swallow  I  sent  for  Sybaticus  and  Molinettus  the  Physitians  in 
Padoua  and  they  pronounced  me  a  dead  man,  (but  it  hath  pleased  God  to  bee  mercifull  to 
me)  I  was  lett  blood,  used  cupping  glasses  applied  to  my  shoulders  glisters  (sic)  and  Purg... 
[/orn]  all  within  two  dayes,  when  on  a  suddain  they  being  all  desperate  it  pleased  God  to 
afford  me  some  abatement;  though  after  Mollinett  was  of  opinion  I  should  miscarry  then 
being  brought  to  that  weaknesse.  After  5  dayes  fasting  that  I  could  scarce  discern  anything: 
Mr  Baines,  God  reward  him,  3  whole  nights  satt  up  with  me  and  indeed  was  the  onely  comfort 
I  had  in  my  disease  by  his  care  and  vigilancy:  To  be  short  after  14  dayes  sicknesse  this  day 
I  have  been  able  to  goe  down  staires,  so  that  I  hope  that  I  may  now  say  that  I  am  recovered, 
Lett  me  intreat  thee  my  dearest  to  give  thanks  to  the  Lord  for  his  Mercy  vouchsafed  me:... 

Bargrave  in  his  Travells  (1654-5)^  describes  a  visit  to  Padua,  and  when 
he  mentions  having  met  Finch  and  Baines  he  praises  them  highly.  "Here 
I  had  the  favour  to  be  matriculated  into  the  University  and  to  be  entertained 
by  all  the  English  Gentlemen  with  all  imaginable  Cortesie,  specially  by  Mr  John 
Finch  and  his  Sociat  Mr  Baines,  two  remarkable  Patterns  for  learning  and 
Virtue." 

Finch  was  made  Pro-Rector  and  Syndic  of  the  University  in  1656,  and  the 

following  passage  from  Tomasinus^  relates  the  duties  and  privileges  of  that  office : 

When  there  is  no  Rector  to  be  had,  or  \\hen  he  who  has  been  elected  is  forced  to  be  away 
for  more  than  a  month,  then  a  Vice-Rector  or  Pro-Rector,  as  well  of  the  Doctors  as  of  the 
Juriconsults,  shall  be  elected  by  the  University  such  as  shall  be  worthy  of  the  Rectorate. 
This  honour  often  fell  to  the  Gymnasium.  He  undertakes  the  duties  of  the  Rector,  and 
enjoys  the  same  oath  of  jurisdiction  as  the  Rector  swears  to,  his  eminence  and  privileges, 
with  the  exception  indeed  of  the  position  of  headship,  and  the  exterior  purple  gown  of  the 
Rector.  He  wore  a  long  gown  of  ample  sleeves  like  the  Rector's  but  black  in  colour,  and  under 
this  exterior  garment  he  wore  red  clothing.  He  received  the  gown  with  solemn  ceremony 
in  tlie  Cathedral  church  and  was  led  to  his  lodgings  by  a  numerous  company.     The  last 

'  Rawlinson  MSS.,  Bodleian  Library,  No.  C.  799. 

'  Gymnasium  Patavinum  Jacobi  PbiHtpt   Tomasini,  episcopi  ^moniensis...Uiini,,MDCLlV.     "Concerning 
the  Vicerector,  Syndic  and  the  Counsellors."     Chap,  xxiii  (translation). 

M.  3 


i8  EDUCATION   IN    PADUA  [ch. 

Vice-Rector  of  the  Masters  of  Arts  was  Dominus  Samuel  Geisufius,  1617,  who  died  from  a 
heavy  fall  from  his  horse. 

From  this  time,  since  the  office  of  the  Gymnasium  had  lapsed,  the  Syndic,  after  a  few 
years,  was  honoured  by  the  title  of  Vice-Rector,  with  a  large  power  of  office.  He  indeed 
at  the  solemn  functions  of  the  University,  that  is  to  say,  at  the  Disputations  and  the  pro- 
motions of  Doctors,  wears  a  gown  reaching  down  to  his  ankles,  and  thrown  over  it  another 
long,  sleeved  gown  of  black  silk,  which  the  Bedell  of  the  University  takes  charge  of  for  a  fee. 
Each  University  had  its  own  Syndic,  who  as  the  head  of  the  same  does  all  those  things,  which 
formerly  the  Rector  and  the  Vice-Rector  undertook.  The  Counsellors  attend  on  the  Syndics, 
who  are  elected  every  year  on  the  appointed  day  of  Elections,  in  the  beginning  of  the  month 
of  August  in  the  presence  of  the  most  illustrious  Rectors  of  the  City,  in  the  order  and  number 
given  above.  Should  any  Syndic,  as  well  of  the  Juriconsults,  as  of  the  Masters  of  Arts,  be 
absent,  the  Counsellors  of  each  Germanic  nation  shall  take  his  place. 

Andrich^  mentions  that  the  Scottish  nation  had  already  given  one  Syndic 
— "Henricus  Lindisy  Scotus  MDCXL-I";  while  amongst  those  who  followed 
Finch  in  the  office  were  "Guilielmus  Stokeham,"  "Emmanuel  Timoni," 
"Richardus  CoUins. "  and  "Thomas  Tompson."  Andrich^  gives  an  account  of 
Finch's  election  and  of  the  important  events  during  his  tenure  of  office,  and  we 
learn  that  young  Finch  was  well  thought  of  by  his  contemporaries  at  Padua. 

John  Finch,  Englishman,  1656-7. 

On  the  1st  of  August  1656  Master  John  Finch,  "having  been  elected  without  opposition, 
by  the  consent  of  all,  and  with  great  applause,  remained  viva  voce  Prorector  and  Syndic." 
On  the  23rd  of  September  the  University  senate,  as  Faciolati  says,  "ordered  the  Chancellors, 
that  if  anyone  had  obtained  honours  not  by  the  consent  of  all  the  voters,  but  by  the  greater 
number  only,  commonly  called  'by  majority,'  to  declare  this  in  the  diploma,  but  they  should 
give  the  diploma  in  a  less  decorated  form,  not  on  parchment  but  on  paper."  At  the  meeting 
on  the  29th  of  September,  there  being  present  the  Syndic  and  Counsellors,  it  was  decreed  that 
the  registers  [matriculae]  should  be  given  out  to  the  students  and  the  Counsellors  of  the 
nations  should  stand  faith  for  each  scholar.  Wherefore  from  this  year  the  Counsellors  inter- 
ceded for  those  who  had  matriculated  [immatriculatio]. 

On  the  7th  November,  when  the  Turks  had  been  conquered,  it  was  declared  that  a  book 
in  Latin  or  Italian  should  be  written  to  congratulate  the  Venetian  State,  and  on  the  nth 
of  Decem.ber,  that  two  scholars  that  had  received  honours  from  the  Venetian  college  without 
payment,  since  they  wished  to  be  paid  from  the  funds  of  the  Gymnasium,  should  seek  from 
the  University  that  which  by  favour,  but  not  by  law,  perhaps  it  was  able  to  grant.  There  are 
two  inscriptions  dedicated  to  Finch  in  the  Gymnasium.  One  in  the  entrance  before  the 
halls  E  and  B  with  a  wreath  (stemmate)  and  monument ;  the  other  in  hall  A  (the  great  hall) 
with  a  carved  wreath  in  which  he  is  described,  by  the  decree  of  the  Jurists  of  the  University, 
as  a  most  zealous  defender  and  restorer  of  the  privileges  of  the  scholars. 

Later  a  monument  was  also  erected  to  the  memory  of  another  English 
Syndic,  Dr  William  Stokeham^.  Prof.  Darwin,  who  published  a  valuable  paper 
"On  monuments  to  Cambridge  men  in  Padua"  (Trans,  of  Canib.  Antiquar.  Soc. 
1 2th  March,  1894),  gives  a  plate  of  the  sculptured  monument  with  inscription 
to  Finch  in  the  Aula  Magna.  Finch's  arms  were  Argent  a  chevron  between 
three  gryphons  passant   sable,  but  here  there  is  a  mullet  (?)  on  the  chevron, 

*  Loc.  cit.  B.  Prorectores  ac  Syndic!.  *  Loc,  cit.  p.  14. 

^  Quoted  by  Ward  (from  Stowe's  Survey  of  London)  in  section  on  Baines  in  The  Lives  of  the  Professors  of 

Gresham  College. 


ItEE^^ 


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—  z  ai  <  >  ?; 


C     -J 


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bJj 


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Z    ~A 


o    - 


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S  H 


m 


o     ^ 


Ill]  EDUCATION   IN    PADUA  19 

and  the  gryphons  are  falsely  blazoned  rampant.  One  of  the  three  small  monu- 
ments (all  alike)  to  Baines  in  the  Aula  Magna  is  depicted  also.  Baines'  arms 
were  "sable  two  bones  crosswise  argent"  (Gwillim)  but  here,  as  Prof.  Darwin 
pointed  out,  the  bones  are  placed  saltirewise  and  really  the  arms  of  Newton 
are  represented.  Dr  Peile,  late  Master  of  Christ's  College,  very  generously 
restored  these  monuments  at  his  own  expense.  By  the  courtesy  of  the  Cambridge 
Antiquarian  Society  we  are  enabled  to  reproduce  Plate  II. 

Some  years  after  this  Dr  Edward  Browne  (i  642-1 708),  son  of  Sir  Thomas 
Browne,  came  indirectly  under  the  influence  of  Finch.  Dr  Norman  Moore  writes 
in  his  Medicine  in  the  British  Isles : 

Browne  went  to  Venice  and  then  spent  some  weeks  in  Padua  studying  Anatomy.  The 
dissection  was  admirably  done  by  a  demonstrator  named  Marchetti,  who  had  been  instructed 
by  Sir  John  Finch  "one  who  in  Anatomy  hath  taken  as  much  pains  as  most  now  living." 

This  was  probably  Domenico  de  Merchettis,  son  of  the  surgeon  Pietro  de 
Merchettis  and  one  of  the  first  Anatomists  to  inject  the  vessels.  He  noted  (in  1652) 
movements  of  heart  muscle  and  muscle  of  the  intestine  independent  of  connection 
with  the  brain^. 

A  letter  written  in  1657  to  Anne  Conway  describes  how  Finch  and  Baines 
took  their  degrees  in  the  autumn  of  that  year : 
My  dearest  Dear, 

You  may  imagine  that  I  have  scarce  time  enough  to  sett  pen  to  paper  that  make 
use  of  Dr  Baines  his  letter  and  beleive  it  my  Dear  my  persuading  him  to  bear  me  company 
in  taking  my  degree  of  Doctor  was  the  occasion  of  all  this  busenesse  that  hinders  my  present 
writing  for  this  week  onely  wee  were  both  made  Doctors  of  Physick,  and  you  have  no  reason 
to  be  angry  at  my  silence  for  my  taking  my  degree  hath  shortened  my  stay  ten  moneths  which 
otherwise  I  must  have  spent  at  Monpellier  to  that  Purpose:  Here  is  my  Lo:  V  Scudamores 
Sonne  who  married  Mrs  Mary  Bennett  who  desired  to  live  with  me  at  Padoua  having  at  Paris 
wayted  on  you;  but  the  expectation  of  my  Lo:  of  Winchelsea  whose  comming  I  wondered 
not  permitted  me  not  the  opportunity  to  secure  the  Mr  Scudamore  in  his  desires.... 

This  letter  is  undated  but  the  next  one  was  written  from  "Padoua  3-13  Decem- 
ber, 1657"  and  refers  again  to  the  taking  of  the  degree.  Finch  evidently  intended 
to  go  back  to  England;  "for  I  tooke  my  degree  of  Doctor  together  with 
Mr  Baines  the  deferring  of  which  on  either  part  till  wee  had  left  Padoua  had 
kept  me  six  moneths  longer  from  thee  my  dear  then  I  now  shall  be...." 

In  this  second  letter  Finch  speaks  of  two  Bologna  dogs,  which  he  and  Baines 
had  sent  to  Anne  Conway,  and  gives  rules  as  to  their  care.  Baines  wrote 
previously  of  one  of  them  as  a  "Bolognia  masty  dogge."  The  Oxford  Dictionary 
gives  "masty"  as  an  old  form  for  "mastiff,"  but  it  would  be  impossible  for 
"  ladyes "  to  hold  a  mastiff  on  their  "  laps."  Besides  a  mastiff  could  not  be  an  "ex- 
ceedingly low"  dog.  So  we  must  conclude  that  they  were  house  dogs  of  some  kind. 

I  hope  by  this  time  the  Bologna  Dog  and  Bitch  are  safely  arrived,  which  Dr  Baines 
and  I  sent  you  by  Captain  Haddock,  Capt.  of  the  Hannibal  desiring  you  to  give  him  40 

'  H.icscr,  Lebrbucb  dcr  Gescbicbit  dtr  Medizin,  Bd.  ii,  S.  283  and  328. 

3—2 


20  EDUCATION   IN   PADUA  [ch. 

shillings  or  l^  for  their  carriage,  he  having  a  speciall  care  of  them.     The  Dog  is  called 
Julietto  and  the  Bitch  Vittoria. 

1.  Let  them  eat  Flesh  but  in  small  Quantity;  rather  giving  them  bones  to  pick 
then  much  meat,  and  be  sure  let  them  not  eat  salt  meat.  If  they  are  fed  by  more  then 
one  person  they  will  eat  too  much  and  dye.  They  eat  sweet  Almonds  or  cakes  if  there 
be  not  too  much  sugar  in  them  for  that  will  fill  them  full  of  wormes.  Bread  sopped  in 
the  dish  is  good  for  them. 

2.  You  must  alwayes  have  a  glasse-full  of  Distilled  Water  of  Goats  Rue,  the 
Apothecaries  call  it  /Itjua  Gategae  or  Aqua  Rutae  Caprariae  of  which  you  must  once  every 
week  give  them  to  drink  Letting  them  that  day  have  no  other  water  that  they  may  be 
sure  to  Drink  of  it;  and  if  either  of  them  are  sik  at  any  time  Let  them  drink  of  that 
water  before  you  let  them  tast  any  other. 

3.  When  you  order  them  to  be  washed,  give  youre  mayds  speciall  charge  that 
they  wash  not  their  heads  for  that  will  quickly  destroy  them ;  but  if  their  heads  are 
dirty  at  any  time  with  a  little  bran  let  them  be  cleansed,  the  rest  of  their  bodyes  with 
a  wash  bole  may  be  washed  all  over;  but  the  seldomer  they  are  washed  the  better: 
and  scarce  ever  in  Winter  is  best.  In  the  Summer  let  the  Mayds  Flea  them  for  they 
will  be  exceedingly  troubled  with  Fleas.  For  being  exceedingly  low  they  will  gather 
them  all  up  in  the  house. 

4.  If  they  are  troubled  with  extraordinary  shaking  of  their  heads  insomuch  that 
they  scratch  their  Ears  because  they  Itch  and  their  Noses  will  be  much  stopped  Then 
give  them  very  little  to  Eat  and  take  some  Frankincense  and  hold  their  heads  over  the 
smoke  of  it,  and  they  will  doe  well. 

5.  If  that  the  Bitch  be  with  Puppy  at  any  time  shee  will  certainly  Dye  if  anybody 
during  the  nine  weeks  should  chance  to  touch  her  with  their  Feet  about  the  belly  so  that 
it  were  well  to  keep  her  in  her  basket  that  time,  though  in  the  Summer  the  basket  must 
not  bee  so  warme  as  now,  but  it  were  best  when  shee  is  proud  to  keep  her  from  the  Dog 
for  one  year  at  least,  for  it  is  likely  shee  may  dye  in  breeding. 

6.  They  were  used  here  in  Italy  to  lye  in  the  bed;  for  they  will  cry  at  any  time 
if  they  have  occasion  to  goe  down  and  are  very  cleanly;  but  it  may  be  your  Mayds  lye 
two  in  a  bed  and  there  they  are  inconvenient. 

7.  The  more  they  are  made  much  of  the  merrier  they  will  be,  for  the  truth  is  here 
they  are  never  out  of  the  Ladyes  laps  or  Arms  or  at  least  their  presence.  Let  them  by 
all  means  walk  with  you  in  the  Garden  for  it  will  doe  them  good. 

In  no  clearer  way  is  the  affection  of  Finch  for  his  sister  shown  than  in  his 

letters  in  which  he  asks  to  have  a  picture  of  her  sent  to  him  whilst  he  was  in  Italy. 

Some  of  these  passages  also  help  to  throw  light  upon  the  portrait  of  Sir  John 

Finch  at  his  Studies  which  at  present  hangs  at  Burley-on-the-Hill.     He  wrote 

from  Padua  on  ist  November,  1652,  very  soon  after  his  arrival  there: 

...Your  Picture  will  be  the  most  acceptable  thing  can  come  from  England  by  a  messenger) 
and  I  shall  return  you  my  owne  for  it  if  I  can  find  any  man  that  is  eminent  at  drawing  small 
pictures,  but  if  I  cannot  heare  of  any,  you  cannot  prize  mine  so  much  as  I  yours,  and  there- 
fore I  shall  get  nothing  by  the  change.... 

And  again,  a  few  days  later,  he  says :  "  ...I  make  no  doubt  that  Mr  Frederick  will 

find  some  means  of  conveying  your  picture  to  me,  which  I  infinitely  love  to  see...." 

Anne  Conway  evidently  had  wished  to  have  a  portrait  or  miniature  of  her 

brother  at  this  time,  and  he  replies  from  Venice  io-20th  February,  1652-3: 

...I  thanke  you  dearest  for  your  affection  in  desiring  my  picture,  I  doe  not  thinke  I  shall 
find  any  able  hand  to  draw  it  unlesse  in  Florence  or  Rome,  if  I  can  at  Venice  I  will  send  it 


Plate   111 


Sir  John    Finch   at   liis  Studies   (portrait   at    15urley-on-the-Hill) 
Bv  S.   Van   Hoogstraaten 


Ill]  EDUCATION   IN    PADUA  21 

you,  and  the  price  will  be  your  own  picture  in  exchange  which  I  shall  covet  more  earnestly 
in  regard  I  have  none  of  you  but  what  is  in  my  heart.  Your  garter  and  hair  are  rdiques 
I  enshrine  as  carefully  as  I  can. 

Finch  had  a  miniature  done  of  himself  but  it  was  not  a  great  success  and 

no  trace  of  it  can  now  be  found.     He  had  lost  no  time  in  having  the  picture 

done  and  writes  from  Venice  13th  May,  1653: 

...Dearest  I  had  my  picture  done  in  little  by  the  best  hand  I  could  hear  of,  but  it  was 
so  much  below  my  expectation  that  I  was  resolved  not  to  send  it,  but  had  it  been  the  best 
under  Heaven  I  had  been  disappointed  of  a  messenger.  I  shall  not,  I  beleive  (sic)  have  it 
done  in  little  till  I  come  to  Florence  or  Rome.... 

The  painting  of  John  Finch  at  his  studies  (Plate  III)  has  for  many 
years  been  considered  to  have  been  done  by  a  Dutch  artist.  Peter  De  Hooche 
had  been  suggested  but  authorities  did  not  agree  on  this  point.  In  1915  Mr 
Lionel  Cust  told  me  that  there  was  a  "pendant"  picture  by  S.  Van  Hoogstraaten 
(1627-1678)  in  the  Royal  Picture  Gallery  at  the  Hague  of  a  woman  (Frontispiece) 
standing  with  a  letter  or  manuscript  in  her  hand.  As  may  be  seen  by  comparing 
the  two  pictures,  they  are  extraordinarily  alike;  both  Finch  and  the  lady  in  the 
other  painting  are  represented  as  literary  people;  the  same  kind  of  dog  is  in 
the  foreground  of  both  pictures;  a  cat  appears  in  both;  the  whole  vestibule, 
pillars  and  glimpse  of  the  Italian  garden  are  very  similar;  and  the  background  of 
both  pictures  is  practically  the  same.  Mr  Cust  writes^  that  the  picture  of  Finch 
"  is  in  itself  remarkable  both  as  a  composition  and  for  its  admirable  painting...." 

It  is  unknown  who  the  lady  was,  but  is  it  not  very  natural  to  expect 
that  there  may  be  a  very  close  relationship  between  the  portraits?  Certainly 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  Van  Hoogstraaten  painted  them  both.  He  is  known 
to  have  visited  Italy  and  England,  but  unfortunately  Finch  never  speaks  of 
this  picture  of  himself  in  the  letters  that  are  preserved.  The  lady  in  the  picture 
at  the  Hague  has  an  aquiline  nose  as  the  Finch  family  had  in  those  days,  and  it 
seems  very  probable  that  Finch  had  his  sister  painted  (from  a  likeness  sent 
to  him)  in  the  same  situation  as  himself,  and  the  dogs  which  appear  in  the 
pictures  may  be  those  which  he  and  Baines  later  sent  to  Anne  Conway.  This 
attempt  to  identify  the  lady  is  supported  by  a  passage  of  a  letter  written  by 
Finch  from  Padua  9-i9th  November,  1653,  "...I  heare  no  news  of  your  picture 
though  many  Dutch  from  Flanders  and  Holland  are  lately  come  hither...." 
Unfortunately  a  careful  enquiry  has  failed  to  reveal  any  record  of  a  print  or 
engraving  representing  Anne  Viscountess  Conway.  Paintings  by  S.  Van  Hoog- 
straaten are  rare  and  Waagen^  knew  of  only  one  in  England  and  that  in  the 
Bridgewater  Gallery.  It  must  remain  an  open  question,  for  the  present,  as  to 
when  and  where  these  companion  pictures  were  painted. 

'  Lionel  Cust  and  Archibald  M.illocli,  "  Portraits  by  Carlo  Dolci  and  S.  Van  Hoogstraaten,"  The  Burlington 
Magazine,  no.  clxiii,  vol.  xxix,  October  1916. 

•  Treasures  of  An  in  Great  Britain,  1854-57,  vol.  11,  p.  52. 


CHAPTER    IV 

PISA 

There  is  nothing  in  the  Burley  letters  which  would  lead  us  to  think  that 
Finch  and  Baines  returned  to  England  before  1660.  However  in  1659  they 
had  removed  from  Padua  into  Etruria,  and  Finch  soon  came  under  the  notice 
of  the  Duke  of  Tuscany,  for  in  this  year  Finch  was  appointed  Professor  of 
Anatomy  at  Pisa.  He  was  the  first  and  possibly  the  only  Englishman  to  receive 
this  honour. 

It  was  a  very  important  period  at  the  University  of  Pisa  and  Finch  was 
surrounded  by  distinguished  men.  Marcello  Malpighi  had  come  from  Bologna 
in  1656,  and  for  four  years  was  in  the  chair  of  Theoretical  Medicine^,  but  it  was 
not  until  the  year  1661,  after  his  return  to  Bologna,  that  he  added  another 
proof  (if  any  further  were  necessary)  of  the  truth  of  Harvey's  conception  of 
the  circulation  of  the  blood,  when  he  watched  through  a  microscope  the  blood 
coursing  through  the  vessels  on  the  surface  of  the  lung  and  bladder  of  the  frog. 
BoreUi,  the  Physiologist  and  Physicist,  was  made  Professor  of  Mathematics 
at  Pisa  in  1656,  and  Fabroni^  relates  how  Malpighi  supported  Borelli  in  a  con- 
troversy against  Finch.  "He  [Borellus]  received  the  patronage  of  Malpighius 
against  John  Finch,  who  obstinately  denied  that  he  was  the  first  of  all  to  have 
seen  in  tunny-fish,  and  sword-fish  and  other  hke  fish  that  the  optic  nerve  does 
not  lie  in  the  hairs,  or  threads  collected  into  a  bundle,  as  in  men  and  quadrupeds, 
but  in  a  certain  complicated  membrane."  Borelli  was  the  first  to  apply 
the  laws  of  Physics  to  the  problems  of  Physiology  and  his  great  work  De  Motu 
Animalium  was  published  in  the  years  1680  and  1681. 

In  regard  to  Finch's  appointment  in  the  University  of  Pisa  we  must 
quote  Fabroni^  again  at  some  length  in  order  to  obtain  an  idea  of  the  intimate 
relationship  which  existed  at  that  time  between  the  Etruscan  Court  and  the 
University.  "Under  the  patronage  of  the  Grand  Duke  and  the  peculiar  care 
of  his  brother  (Prince  Leopold)  the  celebrated  Accademia  del  Cimento,  which 
preceded  the  Royal  Society  of  London  and  the  Academy  of  Sciences  at  Paris, 
was  established  at  Florence  in  1657*." 

'  Fabroni,  Historia  Academicae  Pisanae,  Pisis  1795,  vol.  iii,  p.  688.    Medicinae  turn  Theoricae  turn  Practicae 
Ordinarii  &  Extraordinarii  magistri — Marcellus  Malpighius,  Bonon. — 1656-1659. 

*  Loc.  cit.  vol.  :i:,  p.  466.  '  Loc.  cit.  vol.  iii,  p.  533  (error  in  pagination  for  532). 

*  Diary  and  Correspondence  of  Dr  Worthington,  edited  by  James  Crossley,  MDCCCXLVII,  vol.  i,  p.  342  note. 


cn.  iv]  PISA  23 

This  Academy  has  been  described  as  "the  greatest  glory  of  Italy  after 
GaHleo."  Emphasizing  the  truth  of  the  first  aphorism  of  Hippocrates,  "experi- 
ence is  fallacious  and  judgment  difficult,"  provando  e  riprovando  was  chosen  as 
the  motto  of  the  Academy.  I  have  seen  a  print  of  the  Accademia  del  Citnento 
with  a  group  of  virtuosi  seated  about  a  table,  some  mathematical  and  physical 
instruments  in  the  foreground  and  on  the  wall  in  the  background  the  motto 
and  the  coat  of  arms,  an  oven  with  three  crucibles  or  retorts  upon  it. 

An  account  of  the  work  performed  by  the  Academy  was  published  by  the 
Secretary  in  1667,  and  dedicated  to  the  Grand  Duke  Ferdinand  II ;  "with  the 
favour  of  your  Patronage,  the  encouraging  invitation  of  your  Mind,  with  the 
Honour  of  your  Presence  sometimes  stooping  to  join  us  in  the  Academy,  some- 
times commanding  us  to  your  Royal  Apartments,  you  have  bestow-ed  upon  it 
an  Immortal  Glory."  A  translation  of  this  book  by  Richard  Waller,  F.R.S., 
was  published  for  the  Royal  Society  in  1684  entitled  Essayes  of  Natural  Experi- 
ments made  in  the  Academie  Del  Cimenio. 

Targioni  Tozzetti^  gives  a  list  of  the  "famous  anatomists"  who  were 
maintained  and  paid  by  the  Grand  Duke  Ferdinand  II  of  Tuscany  and  were 
favoured  by  his  patronage:  "Marcello  Malpighi,  Claudio  Aubriet,  Carlo 
Fracassati,  Silvestro  Bonfigliuoli,  Nicolo  Stenone,  Giovanni  Finckio,  Lorenzo 
BelHni,  and  Tilmanno  Truttwyn." 

Fabroni  writes : 

Not  for  more  than  two  years  did  the  Academy  use  the  works  of  Auberius,  and  aftenvards 
for  a  year  the  chair  of  Anatomy  was  vacant,  and  in  1659,  the  place  was  given  to  John  Finch 
a  noble  Briton  with  450  hundred  asses  (centussium)  in  payment.  The  love  of  letters  and  the 
study  of  philosophy,  which  he  had  heard  were  in  the  house  of  the  Princes  of  Medici  especially 
cultivated,  caused  him  to  visit  Etruria :  in  which  he  had  scarcely  set  foot  when  he  was  plied 
with  all  honours.  And  whom  shall  we  call  happy,  if  not  those,  to  use  the  words  of 
Pliny,  whose  industry  is  proved,  not  by  messengers  and  interpreters,  but  by  the  Grand  Duke 
himself,  and  Leopold  his  brother,  not  only  by  their  ears  but  also  by  their  eyes?  The  love 
of  knowledge  acquired  by  some,  to  them  was  inborn  and  innate,  whence  it  happened  that 
they  dwelt  with  learned  men,  like  parents  with  their  children.  Nor  would  you  have  those 
things  of  little  importance,  which  Finch  used  to  put  before  their  eyes.  As  an  example,  I 
will  bring  Berigard  as  a  witness,  who  speaking  of  the  chylus,  says  thus:  "it  is  not  carried  by 
the  mesaraic  veins,  as  all  antiquity  believed,  but  by  certain  very  minute  veins  which  modern 
writers  call  milky,  because  on  being  cut  they  produce  swxet  milk.  These  being  dispersed 
through  the  mesentery  send  out  many  branches  to  the  intestines,  to  the  pancreas,  to  the 
right  jugular  vein,  and  thence  by  ducts  to  the  heart,  which  John  Finch,  a  noble  Englishman, 
Anatomical  Ordinary  in  the  Pisan  Gj-mnasium,  very  clearly  showed,  as  also  many  other 
things  very  worth)'  of  account,  before  the  most  Serene  Grand  Duke,  with  no  less  praise  and 
glory  than  William  Harvey  the  pride  of  his  renowned  nation,  of  which  he  (Finch)  may  be 
called  another  hope,  and  perhaps,  if  it  please  God,  he  will  show  other  ducts  belonging  to  the 
breasts  and  uterus." 

It  is  only  just  to  state  that  Finch  did  not  discover  the  lacteals,  for  they  were 

described  by  Aselli  in  1622. 

'  Aui  e  Memorie  ineiile  delF  Accademia  del  Cimettio. ..TirtDzt,  MDCCLXXX,  Tom.  iii,  p.  192,  i  ccxuil. 


24  PISA  [CH. 

We  know  also  from  Borellius^  that  Finch  argued  with  many  before  the 
Grand  Duke  concerning  the  cramp-fish  (torpedine)  and  attributed  this  much 
to  it  "that  one  who  was  troubled  by  a  paralytic  tremor  had  affirmed... that  the 
touch  of  that  fish  had  given  his  arm  a  grievous  pain  for  two  days."  This  person 
may  be  identified  with  Thomas  Baines.  At  the  beginning  of  a  note-book  in 
Sir  John  Finch's  handwriting  (dated  Pisa  I4th-24th  January,  1663-4),  "Cap. 
I.  de  Torpedinae  tremola"  is  an  account  of  the  dissection  of  a  torpedo-fish, 
also  an  amusing  note,  which  is  printed  in  vol.  11  of  the  Finch  Report,  17th  March, 
1659-60,  "the  Grand  Duke  had  sent  them  a  live  torpedo-fish,  and  (not  knowing 
what  sort  of  creature  it  was)  they  had  taken  it  up  in  their  hands,  the  result 
being  a  pricking  sensation  like  that  which  comes  when  you  suddenly  put  cold 
fingers  to  the  fire.  If  the  hand  is  not  quickly  taken  away,  the  pain  goes  up  the 
whole  arm.  Dr  Baines,  having  very  delicate  nerves,  was  affected  for  some  time 
afterwards,  but  Finch  and  Henry  Brown  [I  think  his  clerk]  were  all  right  as 
soon  as  they  removed  their  hand."  It  is  of  some  interest  to  note  that  Baines 
always  wrote  in  a  shaky  hand,  and  indeed  his  important  letters  to  friends  in 
England  were  generally  written  by  another  person  and  he  merely  signed  them. 
Probably  he  was  afflicted  with  paralysis  agitans.  Much  later  Finch  writes  to 
England,  3rd-l3th  January,  1679-80,  that  he  still  wishes  students  sent  out 
to  Constantinople  to  act  as  amanuenses  especially  for  Baines  "who  is  much 
incommoded  as  to  the  use  of  his  hands  in  writing." 

Finch  never  published  an  account  of  the  torpedo-fish,  but  there  is  a  paper 
in  the  Phil.  Trans,  of  the  Roy.  Soc.  lxiii,  p.  461,  "Anatomical  Observations  on 
the  Torpedo,"  by  John  Hunter.     Fabroni  continues : 

There  were  certain  things  concerning  the  optic  nerves  of  another  fish,  about  which  Finch 
and  Borellius  were  less  agreed,  which  disagreement  gave  cause  for  that  writing,  which  obtained 
a  place  amongst  the  posthumous  works  of  Marcellus  Malpighius.  When  Borellius  wrote  about 
these  things  in  letters,  Finch  was  absent  from  Etruria.  For  he  had  obtained  leave  from  the 
Grand  Duke  to  revisit  Rome  and  Naples  and  the  region  with  Thomas  Penis  [?  for  Baines], 
a  Briton  also,  whom  the  similarity  of  studies  had  brought  together,  so  that  they  had  all  things 
in  common.  He  observed  many  things,  and  not  a  few  related  to  natural  history,  that  he 
might  satisfy  not  only  himself  but  his  patrons.  Not  many  months  after  he  returned  to  his 
first  employment  dignified  with  title,  as  Adrian  Van  der  Broechius  witnesses,  of  physician 
to  the  Queen  of  England,  which  honour  he  received  in  the  spring  of  1665.  The  King  increased 
it  by  committing  to  him  the  care  of  his  affairs  with  the  Grand  Duke,  as  the  "Resident."  Nor 
did  the  liberality  of  the  King  end  here.  Ten  years  after  he  sent  him  as  legate  to  the  King  of 
the  Turks,  and  wherever  he  was  he  cultivated  the  learned  friendship  of  the  Medici  Princes 
by  all  kinds  of  services,  and  the  desire  of  investigating  new  things. 

When  he  first  came  to  Etruria  he  had  with  him  an  anatomical  "sector"  who  seemed  to 
be  the  most  skilful  of  his  times,  called  Tilman  Tructwyn,  of  Ruremond  in  Flanders.  You 
would  have  said  his  hands  had  eyes,  and  he  believed  nothing  he  had  not  seen.  He  also  belonged 
to  the  hall  and  perhaps  was  of  the  academy  of  Pisa,  and  witnesses  are  not  wanting  who  affirm 
that  he  died  at  Florence  at  the  beginning  of  1678,  for  a  long  time  practising  medicine  after 
he  had  given  up  his  work  at  the  hospital  of  St  Matthew. 

*  De  Mot.  Animal,  part  ii,  p.  441. 


IV]  PISA  25 

Targioni  Tozzetti^  gives  an  account  of  this  man  Tructwyn: 

II  Tilmanno  poi  era  un  Anatomico  trattenuto  e  stipendiato  nella  Corte  del  Granduca, 
ed  in  suo  Manoscritto  assai  voluminoso  che  conserve  nella  mia  Libraria,  si  chiama :  Tilmannus 
Tructwyn  Rurae-Mundano-Sycamber,  Medicinae  Doctor,  et  Magni  Etruriae  Ducis  ab  Anat07ne. 
Nella  nostra  Villa  di  Settignano  era  il  suo  Ritratto,  impresso  sul  Gesso  da  formare,  gcttato 
sul  Ramc  intagliato,  e  accomodato  coll'  inchiostro,  come  se  si  fosse  dovuto  tirare  sulla  Carta. 
Era  rappresentato  Giovine  di  bello  aspetto  e  vivace,  vestito  alio  Spagnuolo  coll'  Iscrizione: 

Tilmannus  sic  ora  gerit,  sic  pulchra  inventae 

Lumina;    vis  mentem  cernere,  scripta  lege. 

Vi  era  altresi  un  Emblema,  esprimente  una  Mano  con  Occhio  nel  suo  dorso,  la  quale  teneva 
fra  il  Pollice  e  I'lndice,  un  Coltello  Anatomico,  ed  intorno  vi  era  scritto : 

Ecco  I'occhiuta  man,  che  quanto  vede 
Crede  esser  vero,  e  non  quanto  si  dice. 

What  a  splendid  picture  this  gives  of  the  trained  Anatomist,  who  apparently 
could  see  with  his  hands,  so  acute  had  his  sense  of  touch  become!  This  figure 
was  used  in  the  xix  century  only  with  the  eye  at  the  end  of  the  finger. 

Tozzetti^  had  in  his  possession  an  original  MS.  written  by  Tructwyn  of 
Observations  on  Medicine  and  Pharmacology.  On  the  first  page,  following  an 
epigram  in  Latin  to  the  naturalist  Francesco  Redi  and  a  short  preface  on  the 
nobility  of  Medicine,  Tructwyn  wrote  an  apology  for  setting  down  his  own  epitaph 
and  gives  the  epitaph  itself.     He  did  not  die  until  about  ten  years  later. 

Ne  de  Sepulcro  sollicitus  haeres  esset,   neve  vivorum   neglentia  obesset  mortuo, 

Humanitatis  suae  memor,  hocce  Epitaphium  Dialogicum  sibi  vivus  posuit: 

A.   1669  die  I.  lanuarii. 
Quis  iacet  hie  ?    Nullus.     Quis  saxo  hoc  clauditur  ?    Omnis. 
Clarius  ista,  rogo,  die,  age,  vera  Lapis. 
Tilmannus  parva  situs  est  Trutwynius  urna 
Qui  sibi  Nullus  erat,  omnibus  Omnis  erat. 

In  Finch's  note-book,  "1670-71,  March  19-29,  Easter  Day  Florence," 
he  is  referred  to  again  as  "Tilmann  Trewijn,  Anatomist  of  Ruremond."  A  young 
man,  Robert  Clifford,  son  of  Sir  Thomas,  died  very  suddenly,  and  Trewijn  (or 
Tructwyn)  performed  the  post  mortem.  Finch  gives  an  account  in  Latin  of 
the  autopsy.  The  young  fellow  before  he  died  confessed  to  Finch  himself, 
seeing  that  there  was  no  Anglican  Chaplain  to  act  as  confessor,  and  as 
John  Finch  was  dismayed  at  Sir  Bernard  Gascoigne's  suggestion  that  one  of 
the  Irish  fathers  from  the  Convent  of  the  Benedictines  be  called  in.  The 
confession  is  given  in  cypher. 

This  account  has  taken  us  rapidly  over  the  eventful  periods  which  Finch 
and  Baines  spent  in  England  before  the  former  was  appointed  Ambassador  to 

'  Aui  e  Memorie  inediu  ddl'  Accademia  del  Cimcnto  e  Notiae  Aneddott  dei  Progressi  deUe  Scienze  in  Toscatia^ 
Firenie,  MDCCLXXX,  Tom.  i,  p.  275,  §xcvi. 
"  Ibid.  Tom.  Ill,  p.  350. 


26  PISA  [CH. 

Florence.  That  Finch  was  made  physician  to  the  Queen  of  England  is  quite 
true,  for  in  1662  there  was  issued  a  "passport  for  Sir  John  Finch  physician 
to  the  Queen  Consort,  and  Dr  Thomas  Baines  to  go  to  Florence^."  Fabroni 
in  his  list  of  the  "Anatom  Magistri^,"  gives  "Jo  Finchius  Brittanus  1659-1663," 
but  Finch  spent  from  1660  to  1662  in  England.  His  successor  was  "Carolus 
Fracassatius,  Bononicus  1 665-1 668,"  who  was  a  friend  of  Malpighi  and  who 
carried  out  experiments  on  infusion*  in  animals.  It  would  appear  that  the 
chair  of  Anatomy  was  unoccupied  from  1663   to  1665. 

In  Florence  Finch  was  associated  with  another  famous  scientist,  Nicolaus 
Steno  (1631-1686),  the  Danish  naturalist.  Steno  came  to  Italy  in  1666,  was 
Professor  of  Anatomy  in  Padua,  and  then  in  Florence  was  physician  to  the  house- 
hold of  the  Grand  Duke  Ferdinand  of  Tuscany^  "He  (Stenonius)  in  the 
Hospital  of  St  Mary  Nova  in  Florence  together  with  Finch  and  Laurence 
Lorenzinus,  gave  evidence  of  singular  industry  and  acumen  in  enquiring  into 
things,  which  were  said  to  be  either  not  then  understood  or  not  well  understood^." 

We  give  the  following  epigrams  on  "Dr  John  Finch"  as  an  Anatomist,  in 
both  Latin  and  English.  Targioni  Tozzetti^  considered  that  they  were  written 
"in  the  hand  of  the  famous  Valerio  Chimentelli."  They  were  very  kindly 
copied  for  me  from  the  MS.''  in  the  Biblioteca  Magliabechiana  Nazionale  in 
Florence.  It  is  of  interest  to  note  that  Finch's  work  on  the  lymph  ducts  is 
referred  to,  that  the  heart  is  spoken  of  as  "the  fount  of  life,"  and  that  the  venous 
blood  is  very  picturesquely  described  as  "wearied  when  its  work  is  done." 

In  the  second  epigram  the  writer  contrasts  the  macrocosm  and  the  micro- 
cosm, and  pictures  the  steady  progress  of  civilization  from  the  East  to  the 
West.  The  results  of  Medical  Science  on  the  other  hand,  he  rightly  understands, 
will  help  to  lengthen  men's  days,  and  the  sunset  of  life  will  be  more  and  more 
distant. 

Ad  Excellentissimuvi  D.  Joannem  Finchium  Anglum  Anatomicae  artis 
Professorem  Celeberrimum. 

Clarus  ab  avulsis  toto  venis  orbe  Britannis 

Ultima  iam  studii  sic  quoque  meta  tui. 

Mente  argus,  cultro  lynx,  docto  daedalus  ore, 

Cuncta  secas,  cernis  cuncta  nihilque  taces. 

Vena  riget,  seu  fibra  regat,  vel  ductibus  erret, 

Seu  quid  deliteat  viscere,  vase,  sinu. 

Qua  nova  depreensum  scandens  fert  semita  succum 

Migret  ut  in  rorem  Candida  gutta  rubrum. 
1  Calendar  oj  State  Papers — Domestic,  1661-1662,  p.  513,  Oct.  12th.  -  hoc.  cii.  vol.  iii,  p.  687. 

'  In  apoplectics  he  injected  various  substances  into  the  blood  stream  in  the  vain  hope  of  dissolving  the 
coagulated  tlood  in  the  brain.     He  also  did  work  on  transfusion. 

*  Encycl.  Brit,   nth  ed.  *  Fabroni,  loc.  cit.  vol.  iii,  p.  538.  '  Loc.  cit.  Tom.  in,  p.  193. 

'  Codice  gi^  vii,  600;  oggi  11.  iv,  282,  a  carte  loi.  Biblioteca  Magliabechiana  Nazionale,  Firenze.  I  have 
to  thank  Mr  C.  Hagberg  Wright,  Superintendent  of  the  London  Library,  for  writing  and  having  these  epigrams 
transcribed  for  me. 


iv]  PISA  27 

Qua  ruit  hie  fartim  vitali  e  fonte  resultans, 

Qua  redit  esacto  lassus  ab  officio. 

Nempe  hominem  nunc  findere  scite,  ac  fingere  primum 

Divinae  monstras  nil   minus  artis  opus. 

Aliud. 

Scindit   Iber  pelagum  audaci  dum  puppe  repostum, 
Grandis  in  Occasum,  grandior  Orbis  eat. 
Abdita  tu  Parvi  retegens  penetralia  mundi 
Flectat  ab  occasu  longius,  ipse  facis. 

A  Hud. 

Finchius  en  radiat  sectrici  victor  in  arte. 
Caprigeni  pulcher  pellem  sic  findit  Apollo. 

To  the  most  Excellent  Sir  John  Finch,  Englishman,  the  famous  Professor  of  Anatomy. 

[You  come]  full  of  fame  from  the  British,  who  are  divided  from  the  whole  world,  so  also 
is  now  the  last  aim  of  your  study.  Keen  in  mind,  a  lynx  with  the  knife,  clever  with  a  learned 
tongue,  you  cut  everything,  you  see  everything,  and  you  are  silent  about  nothing.  Whether 
a  vein  irrigates,  a  fibre  controls,  whether  something  wanders  through  the  ducts  or  lies  hid 
in  some  organ,  vessel,  or  sinus,  [you  tell]  how  the  sap  of  the  body  is  caught  and  carried  upward 
by  a  new  path,  so  that  a  clear  drop  changes  into  red  dew,  how  this  gushes  forth  in  a  thick 
stream  from  the  fount  of  life;  how  it  returns  wearied,  when  its  work  is  done.  Indeed  you 
show  that  to  cut  man  up  with  skill  is  no  less  a  work  of  divine  art  than  to  make  him  in  the 
beginning. 

Another  poem. 

While  the  Spaniard  cleaves  the  remote  ocean  with  audacious  prow,  let  the  great  world, 
and  the  greater,  move  towards  the  sunset,  you  by  disclosing  the  inner  secrets  of  the  little 
world,  cause  it  to  swerve  further  from  its  sunset. 


0 


ne  more. 


Lo!  Finch  shines  victor  in  the  anatomizing  art.  Thus  beauteous  Apollo  splits  the 
skin  of  the  goat-born  [i.e.  flays  Marsyas  the  satyr]. 

Finch  did  not  confine  his  attention  to  Anatomy  but  was  always  much 
interested  in  chemistry  and  pharmacology. 

If  there  was  anything  that  pleased  their  (patrons')  minds,  it  was  the  investigation  of 
nature,  and  no  one  came  to  that  hall  and  had  exercised  in  it  to  whom  singular  honours  and 
rewards  had  not  been  attributed.  To  these  belonged  John  Finch,  who  prided  himself  that 
he  had  discovered  certain  new  things  about  salts,  and  had  explained  his  method  of  extracting 
them  from  herbs;  all  indeed  praised  his  industry  but  they  also  gave  commendation  to  Oliva 
because  he  had  before  shown  all  these  things  before  the  eyes  of  many,  of  which  Charles 
Fracassatius  bears  witness,  and  adds  this,  "the  beloved  Oliva  made  a  Polypeiram  ac  robustam 
Encyclopaediam"  of  the  Etruscan  hall^. 

The  world  has  not  greatly  changed  and  even  now-a-days  we  find  discoveries 
have  been  made  before,  and  the  credit  has  to  be  given  to  the  "Olivas"! 

Finch  had  a  curious  mind,  and  in  those  of  his  note-books  which  were  at 
Burley-on-the-Hill  there  are  notes  in  his  handwriting  dealing  with  a  large  variety 

'  Fabroni,  loc.  cit.  vol.  iii,  p.  615. 

4—2 


28  PISA  [cH 

of  subjects.  For  the  most  part  these  notes  do  not  record  any  original  work 
by  Finch,  but  consist  of  extracts  from  various  writers.  A  few  of  the  headings 
are  "Diamonds  and  pearls";  "The  Caribee  Islands";  "Experiments  made  of 
the  sympathetic  powder  by  Sir  Gilbert  Talbot,"  no  doubt  the  "powder  of 
sympathy"  of  Sir  Kenelm  Digby;  "Murano  glass-works";  "The  Wind"; 
"A  Treatise  of  Astronomy,  wherein  is  discoursed  of  the  Flux  and  Reflux  of  the 
Sea"  (many  extracts  about  this),  etc. 

Finch  was  also  very  credulous  and  was  ready  to  believe  supernatural 
wonders.  He  wrote  at  great  length  to  his  sister  in  1656-7  about  some  images 
and  pictures  in  a  Greek  Church  in  Smyrna,  which  "come  down  of  their  own 
accord  on  St  George's  day,  if  the  priest  do  not  take  them  down,  and  go  out  of 
the  church."  Another  extract  in  his  note-book  is  about  a  supposed  rain  of 
wheat'.  In  this  letter  Finch  also  writes  "At  Jeball,  300  miles  from  Tripoli, 
is  a  whole  province  where,  by  petrifying  blast  or  sand,  all  things  are  turned 
into  stone  in  the  same  postures  they  had  when  living.  I  have  a  piece  of 
a  camel's  bone  thence,  and  have  ordered  a  body  of  man,  woman  or  child  to  be 
brought  me.  The  Duke  of  Florence  has  a  hen  with  all  her  chickens  in  stone, 
and  all  the  colours  of  their  feathers.  One  in  Venice  has  a  bough  with  apples 
on  it,  all  the  natural  colours."  There  are  numerous  notes  on  the  making  of 
saltpetre  and  on  the  history  of  gunpowder,  but  I  have  been  unable  to  see  any 
reference  to  the  extraction  of  salts  from  herbs. 

Tozzetti  in  his  book  on  the  Accademia  del  Cimento^  already  referred  to, 
and  under  the  heading  "Experiments  on  the  Digestion  of  some  Animals," 
quotes  the  following  from  the  minutes  or  journal  of  the  society:  "15th  May 
1659.  Twelve  fowls  sent  to  the  house  of  the  English  Anatomists,  a  sack  of  sifted 
millet  and  more  coops  to  keep  them  in  properly,  etc."  Tozzetti  adds  "these 
Anatomists  very  probably  were  Giovanni  Finchio  and  Tommaso  Forbes  of  whom 
I  have  treated  at  length  in  volume  i,  page  272."  Like  Harvey,  many  Anatomists 
and  Physiologists,  even  down  to  the  present  day,  have  been  so  enthusiastic 
in  their  experimental  work  that  they  have  turned  part  of  their  homes  into  a 
laboratory  in  order  that  observations  and  experiments  might  be  carried  out 
at  all  times  of  the  day  and  night. 

It  is  unfortunate  that  in  their  letters  neither  Finch  nor  Baines  speaks  of 
this  work.  The  following  passage  from  a  book^  on  the  Accademia  del  Cimento, 
if  it  is  not  an  account  presented  to  that  Society  by  them,  at  any  rate  we  must 
conclude  that  it  presents  the  results  of  the  experiments  of  these  two  "English 
Anatomists." 

1  Col.  of  Stale  Papers — Domestic,  1656-1657,  p.  287. 

2  Alti  e  Memorie  inedite  dell'  Accademia  del  Cimento,  Tom.  11,  part  11,  p.  599. 

^  Essayes  of  Natural  Experiments  made  in  the  Academic  Del  CiwiCTi/c.-EngUshed  by  Richard  Waller,  Fellow 
of  the  Royal  Society,  London,  1684,  p.  150. 


IV] 


PISA  29 


Experiments  about  the  Digestion  of  some  Animals. 

Wonderful  is  the  Force  wherewith  the  Digestion  of  the  Hen,  and  Duck  kind  is  performed : 
for  they  being  crammed  with  little  Balls  of  Solid  Crystal,  were  dissected  by  us  in  a  few  hours, 
and  opening  their  ventricles  in  the  Sun,  they  seemed  to  us  covered  all  over  with  a  glittering 
Coat,  which  examining  with  a  Microscope,  we  found  it  to  be  onely  strewed  over  with  exquisitely 
fine  and  impalpable  powder  of  Crystal. 

In  others  likewise,  crammed  with  hollow  Bubbles  of  Crystal-Glass  with  a  small  hole  in 
them,  we  were  amazed  to  find  of  the  said  Bubbles  some  already  broken,  and  powdered; 
others  onely  crack'd,  and  filled  with  a  whitish  Substance,  like  curdled  Milk,  got  in  at  the  small 
hole ;  and  we  also  observed,  that  those  were  bettered  powdered  (than  the  others)  which  had 
in  the  Maws  with  them  a  greater  Quantity  of  small  Stones.  And  'tis  less  strange,  that  they 
break,  and  grind  to  pieces,  Corke,  and  any  hard  Woods,  as  Cypress,  and  Beech,  and  rub  to 
Powder  Olive-stones,  the  hardest  Pine-apple  Kernels,  and  Pistaches  put  down  their  Mouths, 
with  the  Husk  on.  Pistol  bullets  in  Twenty  four  Hours  we  have  found  much  Battered:  and 
several  little  hollow  square  Boxes  of  Tin  were  observed  to  be  some  scratched,  and  battered, 
others  tore  open  from  one  side  to  the  other. 


CHAPTER    V 
ENGL.\ND 

Finch  and  Baines — their  names  are  coupled  as  easily  as  David  and  Jonathan — 
returned  to  England  after  the  Restoration  late  in  the  year  1660  or  early  in  1661 
and  were  well  received  by  their  countrymen. 

Soon  after  their  arrival  in  England  Baines  was  chosen  Professor  of  Music 
at  Gresham  College  as  successor  to  Dr  Petty,  and  Ward^  gives  the  date  as  8th  of 
March,  1660  (?  1661).  We  find  a  letter  from  Finch  to  his  brother-in-law  Lord 
Conway,  dated  2nd  February,  1661,  in  which  he  writes  that  there  was  an 
election  for  a  fellowship  at  Gresham  College  and  that  he  wished  his  Lordship 
had  appeared  for  Dr  Baines^.  There  is  no  evidence  to  show  that  Baines  was 
specially  qualified  to  hold  a  musical  professorship. 

"The  Doctors,"  as  their  friends  were  fond  of  calling  them,  were  together 
made  Fellows  extraordinary  of  the  Royal  College  of  Physicians,  "  1660-1  Martii 
j.  Admittantur  jam  Socii  Extraordinarii  Dr  Joannes  Finch  et  Dr  Baines,"  as 
the  Roll  Call  has  it.  But  at  that  time  the  number  of  Fellows  was  already  com- 
plete and  the  register  shows  that  this  action  by  the  College  was  not  to  be  taken 
as  a  precedent.  Finch  was  connected  with  Harvey  by  the  marriage  of 
Heneage  Finch  to  Harvey's  niece.  Finch  and  Baines  were  elected  partly  on 
account  of  the  great  benefits  Harvey  had  conferred  on  the  College^. 

1660-1.  Februarii  XXVI.  Ob  praeclara  Doctoris  Harvei,  nobis  nunquam  sine  honore 
nominandi,  ejusque  fratris  germani  Eliabi,  in  Collegium  merita,  placuit  Sociis  omnibus 
praesentibus  (praeterquam  quatuor)  Doctorem  Joannem  Finch  et  Doctorem  Thomam  Baines 
(Patavii  doctorali  laurea  ornatos),  adaucto  tantundem,  in  eorum  gratiam,  Sociorum  numero, 
in  Collegium,  seu  Socios  Extraordinarios,  adsciscere:  ea  tamen  lege  ac  conditione,  ne  res 
haec  facile  in  exemplum  trahatur. 

In  1663  a  new  charter  was  granted  to  the  College  and  the  number  of 
Fellows  was  increased  to  forty.  Finch  and  Baines  were  enrolled  as  Fellows 
with  the  same  privileges  enjoyed  by  the  Fellows  who  were  admitted  under  the 
old  charter. 

On  the  loth  June,  1661,  John  Finch  was  knighted  by  the  King,  but  Baines 
did  not  have  this  honour  conferred  upon  him  until  some  years  later.     Wood* 

'  Lives  of  the  Gresham  Professors,  London,  MDCCXL,  p.  2i8. 

'  Calendar  of  Stale  Papers — Domestic — Charles  II,  vol.  xxx,  p.  501. 

3  Munk'j  Roll  Call  of  the  Roy.  Coll.  of  Physicians,  2nd  ed.  vol.  i,  p.  299. 

*  Loc.  cit.  p.  228. 


PhltC    1 1' 


From   portrait  at   Hurlcv-oi)-thL--Hill    (see   p.   51) 


CH.  v]  ENGLAND  31 

tells  us  that  "giving  a  visit  to  Edw.  E.  of  Clarendon  L.  Chancellor,  he  (Finch) 
was  by  him  conducted  to  his  Majesty;  and  being  by  him  presented  as  a  rarity, 
his  Majesty  no  sooner  saw,  but  instantly  confer'd  upon  him  the  honour  of 
knighthood  as  a  Person  who  abroad  had  in  a  high  degree  honoured  his  Country." 
Charles  II's  active  interest  in  science  and  especially  in  Anatomy  may  be  recalled 
(vide  Pepys,  i6th  January,  1669).  The  present  Master  of  Christ's  College, 
Dr  A.  E.  Shipley,  The  Cambridge  History  of  English  Literature  (vol.  viii,  p.  358), 
in  his  section  on  "The  Progress  of  Science,"  points  out  that  Charles  II's  taste 
for  science  may  be  explained  by  his  ancestry  on  his  mother's  side — the  Medici. 

Dr  Worthington^  writes  to  his  friend  S.  Hartlib  in  1661  :  "...By  the  news- 
book  I  perceive  Dr  John  Finch  (the  Lady  Conway's  brother)  is  knighted  by  the 
King.  He  was  Dr  More's  pupil,  and  one  of  excellent  improvements  when  at 
Christ  College ;  and  he  hath  gained  much  reputation  abroad.  He  is  furnished 
with  all  things  convenient  for  the  making  experiments  in  the  way  of  physick 
by  the  Duke  of  Florence." 

On  the  20th  June,  1661,  Finch  and  Baines  received  the  degree  of  Doctor 
of  Physic  from  the  University  of  Cambridge,  but  conferred  on  them  in  absentia, 
in  virtue  of  their  years  of  study  at  Padua  and  of  the  medical  degree  granted  to 
them  by  that  university". 

Cum  vir  eximie  nobilis  Johannes  Finch,  eques  auratus  et  Pisae,  magni  ducis  Hetruriae, 
professor  publicus,  et  dignissimus  etiam  vir  Thomas  Baynes,  duodecim  abhinc  annis  admissi 
fuerint  apud  nos  Cantabrigienses  ad  gradum  magisterii  in  artibus  et  postea  in  e.xteras 
regiones  profecti,  diuque  apud  Patavinos  commorati,  non  sine  summorum  applausu,  et 
Anglicani  nominis  honore  gradum  doctoratus  in  medicina  ibidem  adepti  sint;  in  patriam 
demum  reversis  superiori  anno  iisdem  gratia  concessa  est,  ut  hie  apud  nos  admitterentur 
ad  eundem  gradum,  statum  et  honorem,  quibus  apud  Patavinos  prius  insigniti  fuerant.  At 
vero  cum  ipsimet  in  personis  propriis  ob  importuna  negotia,  quibus  impliciti  et  detenti  sunt 
adesse  non  possint;  Placet  itaque  vobis  ut  vir  nobilis  Johannes  Finch  admissionem  suam 
recipiat  ad  dictum  gradum  sub  persona  Doctoris  Carr  in  medicina  doctoris; — et  Thomas 
Baynes  suam  itidem  sub  persona  Johannis  Gostlin  inceptoris  in  medicina;  et  ut  eorum  stet 
eisdem  pro  completis  gradu  et  forma. 

Both  Finch  and  Baines  were  interested  in  the  formation  of  the  Royal 
Society  and  their  names  appear  together,  "John  Finch,"  "Tho.  Baines,"  amongst 
the  "signatures  of  the  persons  who,  on  the  5th  of  December,  1660,  resolved  to 
forni  a  society  for  promoting  experimental  philosophy^."  However  the  Charter 
of  Incorporation  did  not  pass  the  Great  Seal  till  the  15th  of  July,  1662,  and  the 
second  Charter  on  the  22nd  of  April,  1663,  in  which  the  officers  were  practically 
all  renominated  and  provision  was  made  that  all  persons  whom  the  President 
and  Council  should  receive  into  the  Society  within  two  months  from  the  date 

'  Diary  and  Correspondence  of  Dr  Wortbingion,  vol.  i,  p.  339. 
*  Munk's  Roll  Call  of  the  Roy.  CoU.  of  Physicians,  2nd  ed.  vol.  i,  p.  299. 

3  The  Signatures  in  the  First  Journal-Book  and  The  Charter  Book  of  the  Royal  Society,  Oxford  Umver»ity 
Press,  in  which  the  signatures  are  reproduced  as  photogravures  of  the  originals. 


32  ENGLAND  [ch. 

of  the  Charter  should  be  named  Fellows,  and  on  the  20th  May,  1663,  "Finch 
Sir  John  Kt."  and  "Bayne  Thomas  M.D.  afterwards  Kt."  were  admitted  as 
members  and  therefore  as  Fellows^.  Amongst  other  names  enrolled  at  this  time 
were  those  of  Elias  Ashmolc,  John  Evelyn,  Kenclm  Digby,  Wm.  Petty,  George 
Duke  of  Buckingham,  George  Bate,  M.D.,  William  Croome,  M.D.,  John  Dryden, 
and  Christopher  Wren,  etc.  Finch  and  Baines  both  attended  the  meetings  of 
the  Society  whilst  they  remained  in  England,  and  on  15th  May  they  were  "with 
several  others  nominated  a  committee  for  a  library  at  Gresham  College  and 
for  examining  of  the  generation  of  insects^." 

By  the  courtesy  of  the  Royal  Society  I  have  been  allowed  to  look  over  some 
unpublished  letters  from  H.  Oldenburgh  (the  Secretary)  "to  Sir  John  Finch 
at  Florence,"  written  in  the  years  1664-1669.  They  are  four  in  number. 
Oldenburgh  hoped  that  Finch  would  soon  have  his  History  of  Poysons  ready, 
and  tried  to  arrange  that  Finch  might  send  a  letter  from  time  to  time  telling 
of  the  advance  of  knowledge  in  Italy,  as  Finch  was  well  known  to  Prince  Leopold 
and  to  other  "virtuosi"  in  Florence,  Naples  and  Rome.  Oldenburgh  tells  of 
recent  papers  that  had  been  read  before  the  Royal  Society.  Finch  evidently 
did  not  answer  this  first  letter  and  the  second  repeats  the  same  request.  The 
second  letter  brought  an  answer  from  Finch  which  was  read  on  "assembly  day," 
and  the  Royal  Society  wished  to  thank  him  for  conveying  a  history  of  the 
institution  to  the  Grand  Duke  of  Tuscany.  In  the  fourth  letter  Oldenburgh 
wished  to  have  a  copy  made  of  a  "Greek  MS.  on  Chymistry  in  the  Florence 
Library,"  and  wrote  that  the  expenses  of  such  work  would  be  borne  by 
Sir  Robert  Moray  and  himself. 

In  the  Burley  papers  very  little  light  is  thrown  upon  the  life  of  Finch  and 
Baines  during  their  years  of  residence  in  England.  Sir  John  Finch's  house 
was  in  Kensington  and  indeed  it  now  forms  part  of  Kensington  Palace.  Here 
they  may  have  lived  together,  but  it  would  seem  from  letters  to  the  Conways 
that  they  stayed  with  Heneage  Finch  at  the  Inner  Temple.  Baines  also  had 
lodgings  at  Gresham  College.  They  attended  meetings  of  the  Royal  Society, 
enjoying  the  friendship  of  some  of  the  distinguished  men  of  the  time,  and  paid 
occasional  visits  to  the  Conways  at  Ragley. 

There  is  a  very  interesting  series  of  letters  in  the  Burley  MSS.  from 
Heneage  Finch,  afterwards  Lord  Chancellor,  to  his  young  son  Daniel  at  Oxford, 
and  in  these  Finch  and  Baines  are  occasionally  mentioned.  "If  you  return  in 
convenient  time  {i.e.  from  Bath  to  Oxford),  'tis  likely  that  Dr  Baynes  will  give 
you  a  visit  before  he  leave  England^."  Heneage  Finch  apparently  did  not  take 
Baines  altogether  seriously  in  his  endeavours  to  give  advice  to  young  Daniel, 

'  The  Record  of  the  Royal  Society,  3rd  ed.   1912,  pp.  15-16. 

'  Journals  of  the  Roy.  Soc.  vol.  i,  p.  18.  *  Loc.  cit.  p.  208.     1662,  Aug.  7th. 


Plate  r 


From   portrait  at   Burlc)-oii-tlic-Hill   (sec  p.   51) 


v]  ENGLAND  33 

although  the  father  himself  was  constantly  urging  his  son  to  study  and  to  avoid 
frivolity.  However  Daniel  was  a  diligent  student  and  a  model  son,  which  makes 
one  wonder  the  more  what  was  the  nature  of  Baines'  advice.  Heneage  Finch 
writes:  "Dr  Baynes  hath  written  you  a  large  treatise  of  good  counsell  in  his 
own  phrase,  which  though  I  know  you  do  not  want,  yet  I  would  have  you  take 
kindly  when  you  see  him,  for  he  that  intends  a  respect  to  you  must  always 
find  himself  respected  agayn^."  In  the  same  letter,  Heneage  Finch  says: 
"Your  uncle  and  Dr  Baynes  are  still  at  Tunbridge."  Later  we  shall  see  that 
"the  Doctors,"  and  especially  Baines,  had  much  to  do  with  the  education  of 
Daniel. 

A  note-book  of  Finch's  contains  items  of  scientific  subjects  under  discussion 
with  "S.  Allen"  and  "T.B."  {i.e.  Baines)  at  Rusthall  in  August,  1662.  "Rust- 
hall"  evidently  refers  to  the  place  of  that  name  near  Tunbridge  Wells,  as  in  that 
same  month  they  stayed  at  Tunbridge. 

Finch  and  Baines  were  never  married,  but  we  have  Finch's  word  for  it  that 
he  was  in  love  at  this  time.  However  this  love  affair  came  to  nought  and  the 
reasons  he  gave  for  not  marrying  are  most  amusing  and  show  Finch  to  be  a 
most  cautious  but  really  very  simple  young  man.  Heneage  Finch  wrote  to 
Conway  on  22nd  June,  1661 : 

I  am  heartily  glad  that  love  has  at  last  obtained  such  power  over  my  brother  Sir  John 
Finch,  as  to  fix  him  in  England,  when  he  thought  himself  bound  in  gratitude  to  the  Duke 
of  Florence  to  run  away  from  the  favours  of  the  English  Court-. 

Finch  writes  to  Lord  Conway,  27th  July,  1661,  describing  the  tour  of  small 
places  which  he  and  Baines  were  making,  and  adds : 

So  soon  as  we  came  to  Chester  I  found  my  Lord  Masarin  (sic)  bewayling  the  narrow  missing 
of  your  Lordship.  Wee  dined  together  but  during  dinner  his  Lordship,  congratulating  me 
my  designs  in  Warwickshire,  and  mentioning  the  person,  made  Dr  Baines  astounded  that 
the  intelligence  of  such  an  affair  had  so  soon  crossed  the  sea,  when  it  arrived  his  notice  so 
late... from  Chester  we  went  to  Shrewsbury,  then  to  Ludlow,  Hereford,  Gloster,  Bristol!  and 
Bathe,  whence  I  went  by  coach  to  London,  but  I  sent  Con  to  Ragley  with  the  Horses... 
I  have  at  large  discoursed  with  my  Brother  concerning  my  amours,  who  after  he  had  at 
first  told  me,  he  would  never  be  against  the  thing  I  liked,  told  me  there  were  many  circum- 
stances little  advisable:  in  so  much  that  T.B.  triumphed  in  his  judgment.  The  Dr  having 
added  one  scruple  more,  which  was  that  in  case  I  had  children  and  dyed :  how  was  it  endent 
shee  would  not  dispose  of  her  estate  to  her  second  husband's  children  or  person.  Thus  my 
Lord  what  I  scrupled  for  another  score:  I  find  m)-  Brother  very  cold  in  upon  the  .Account 
of  Reason  in  point  of  Treaty:  so  that  tis  well  I  have  not  necessitated  mysclfe  at  present  to 
a  further  discourse  and  noyse. 

Baines  seems  to  have  been  just  a  little  selfish  in  the  matter  of  Finch's 
intended  marriage.     Some  years  later  Heneage  Finch  was  again  hoping  that 

'  Loc.  cil.  p.  212.      1662,  Aug.  23rd,  and  also  Caltndar  of  Slate  Papers — Domestic,  1661-1662,  p.  463.     "  1661 
Aug.  i8th  Tues....to  [Lord  Conway]. ..The  Doctors  arc  both  at  Tunbridge  and  are  going  to  Italy." 
•  Calendar  of  Stale  Papers — Domestic,  1661-1662. 

M.  5 


34  ENGLAND  [ch. 

John  Finch  would  marry,  and  wrote  to  him  in  Italy:  "all  your  friends  are  well 
and  my  Lord  Conway  still  in  towne.  Wee  meet  often  ourselves  with  wishing 
you  here,  and  contriving  preferments  for  you,  one  of  which,  you  may  be  sure, 
is  a  good  wife^."  It  is  never  suggested  that  Baines  was  ever  in  love  with  anybody 
but  Finch,  and  had  the  latter  married,  Baines  would  have  been  utterly  discon- 
solate, so  wrapped  up  were  they  in  each  other. 

There  are  a  large  number  of  letters  (145)  from  Henry  More  to  Anne 
Conway  in  the  British  Museum  and  he  often  mentions  Finch  and  Baines. 
In  the  autumn  of  1661  they  visited  Grantham  where  More  was  born,  for  there 
are  notes  in  Finch's  commonplace  book  of  conversations  there  on  various 
medical  questions.  More  writes  that  he  had  "also  mett  with  Sr  John  Finch 
and  Dr  Baines  at  Grantham,  that  they  promised  me  to  call  at  Cambridge  at 
their  return  out  of  the  country^."     In  another  letter  in   1662,  More  says: 

Sr  John  and  Dr  Baines  gave  us  the  happiness  of  their  good  society  here  at  last,  with 
much  ado  we  detained  them  4  or  five  days.  They  stay'd  In  Holland  beyond  what  I  could 
imagine.  But  not  for  nothing  for  Sr  John  has  raysed  his  revenue  near  250  pound  more 
then  it  was  before.  They  go  into  Italy  before  next  Summer.  I  was  urging  Sr  John  as 
forcibly  as  I  could  not  to  go  at  all.  But  what  thay  will  do,  God  alone  knows,  scarce  the 
Great  Duke'. 

It  was  probably  during  this  stay  in  Holland  that  Finch  heard  of  a  blind 
man  who  was  able  by  touch  alone  to  distinguish  colours.  Sir  John  with 
characteristic  zeal  investigated  this  strange  story  and  communicated  the 
results  of  his  experiments  to  his  friend  Robert  Boyle,  and  the  latter  in  his  book 
on  Colours*  gives  a  splendid  account  of  the  whole  proceedings. 

...ri  here  set  down  a  Memorable  particular  that  chanc'd  to  come  to  my  Knowledge, 
since  I  writ  a  good  part  of  this  Essay;  and  it  is  this.  Meeting  casually  the  other  Day  with 
the  deservedly  Famous  (since  for  his  eminent  Qualities  and  Loyalty  Grac'd  by  his  Majesty, 
with  the  Honour  of  Knighthood)  Dr  J.  Finch,  Extraordinary  Anatomist  to  that  Great  Patron 
of  the  Virtuosi,  the  now  Great  Duke  of  Toscany,  and  enquiring  of  this  Ingenious  Person, 
what  might  be  the  Chief  Rarity  he  had  seen  in  his  late  return  out  of  Italy  into  England,  he 
told  me,  it  was  a  man  at  Maestricht  in  the  Low-Countrys,  who  at  certain  times  can  discern 
and  distinguish  Colours  by  the  Touch  with  his  Fingers.  You'l  easily  Conclude,  that  this  is 
farr  more  strange,  than  what  I  propos'd  but  as  not  impossible •,...'Whe]:eioTe  I  confess,  I  pro- 
pos'd  divers  Scruples,  and  particularly  whether  the  Doctor  had  taken  care  to  bind  a  Napkin 
or  Hankerchief  over  his  Eyes  so  carefully,  as  to  be  sure  he  could  make  no  use  of  his  sight, 
though  he  had  but  Counterfeited  the  want  of  it,  to  which  I  added  divers  other  Questions, 
to  satisfie  my  Self,  whether  there  were  any  Likelihood  of  Collusion  of  other  Tricks.  But 
I  found  that  the  Judicious  Doctor  having  gone  farr  out  of  his  way,  purposely  to  satisfie 
Himself  and  his  Learned  Prince  about  this  Wonder,  had  been  very  Watchful!  and  Circumspect 

»  Finch  Report  (Hist.  MSS.  Coram.),  vol.  i,  p.  456. 

'  Brit.  Mus.  Addit.  MSS.  23216,  f.  76,  i6th  Nov.  1661. 

»  Ibid.  i.  86,  4th  Jan.  1662. 

*  Hon.  Robert  Boyle,  F.R.S.  Experimenis  and  Considerations  touching  colours. ..The  Beginning  of  an 
Experimetual  History  of  Colours,  p.  42,  London,  MDCLXIV,  in  8°.  The  earlier  Latin  edition  in  8°  wai 
printed  in   1663. 


v]  ENGLAND  35 

to  keep  Himselfe  from  being  Impos'd  upon.  And  that  he  might  not  through  any  mistake 
in  point  of  Memory  mis-inform  Me,  he  did  me  the  Favour  at  my  Request,  to  look  out  the 
Notes  he  had  written  for  his  Own  and  his  Princes  Information,  the  summ  of  which  Memorials, 
as  far  as  we  shall  mention  them  here,  was  this,  That  the  Doctor  having  been  inform'd  at 
Utrecht,  that  there  Lived  one  at  some  Miles  distance  from  Maestricht,  who  could  distinguish 
Colours  by  the  Touch,  when  he  came  to  the  last  nam'd  Town,  he  sent  a  Messenger  for  him, 
and  having  Examin'd  him,  was  told  upon  Enquiry  these  Particulars: 

That  the  Man's  name  was  John  Vermaasen,  at  that  time  about  33  years  of  Age;  that 
when  he  was  but  two  years  Old,  he  had  the  Small  Pox,  which  rendered  him  absolutely  Blind ; 
that  at  this  present  he  is  an  Organist,  and  serves  that  Office  in  a  pubHck  Quire. 

That  the  Doctor  discoursing  with  him  over  Night,  the  Blind  man  affirm'd,  that  he  could 
distinguish  Colours  by  the  Touch,  but  that  he  could  not  do  it,  unless  he  were  Fasting;  Any 
quantity  of  Drink  taking  from  him  that  Exquisitness  of  Touch  which  is  requisite  to  so  Nice 
a  Sensation. 

That  hereupon  the  Doctor  provided  against  the  next  Morning  seven  pieces  of  Ribbon, 
of  these  seven  Colours,  Black,  White,  Red,  Blew,  Green,  Yellow,  and  Gray,  but  as  for 
mingled  Colours,  this  Vermaasen  would  not  undertake  to  discern  them,  though  if  oflFer'd, 
he  would  tell  that  they  were  A/«A;V....That  all  the  difference  was  more  or  less  Asperity,  for 
says  he  (I  give  you  the  Doctor's  own  words)  Black  feels  as  if  you  were  feeling  Needles  points, 
or  some  harsh  Sand,  and  Red  feels  very  Smooth.... 

To  these  Informations  the  Obliging  Doctor  was  pleas'd  to  add  the  welcome  present  of 
three  of  those  very  pieces  of  Ribbon,  whose  Colours  in  his  presence  the  Bhnd  man  had 
distinguished,  pronouncing  the  one  Gray,  the  other  Red,  and  the  third  Green,  which  I  keep 
by  me  as  Rarities,  and  the  rather,  because  he  fear'd  the  rest  were  miscarry'd. 

The  following  letter  was  written  by  Finch  from  Holland  and  addressed  to 
his  patron  Prince  Leopold  of  Tuscany.  Unfortunately  it  is  undated.  It  must 
have  been  sent  whilst  Finch  was  on  this  same  trip  to  Holland,  for  the  blind  man 
is  referred  to  and  further  details  are  given  of  experiments.  This  letter  appears 
in  a  book  published  in  Florence  in  1773  under  the  title. Lettere  inedite  diUomini 
Illustri,  Per  servire  i'  appendice  aW  Opera  intitolata,  Vitae  Itahrum  Doctrina 
Excellentium,  a  copy  of  which  is  to  be  found  in  Bodley's  Library.  The  discussion 
on  the  preparation  of  anatomical  subjects  is  of  some  interest. 

To  the  Prince  Leopold'^. 

The  lateness  of  this  justly  due  hommage  might  cause  us  to  lose  the  Most  gracious  favour 
of  Your  Most  Serene  Highness  were  it  not  that  what  may  have  seemed  our  neglect  is  itself 
our  excuse.  Because  it  was  nothing  but  our  very  profound  reverence  (regard),  which  kept  us 
from  writing  until  now,  anything  worthy  of  Y.M.S.His  notice.  For,  when  we  arrived  at 
Rotterdam,  for  the  purpose  of  visiting  Signor  Bilzio^,  famous  for  his  anatomical  discoveries, — 
we  found  that  many  were  dying  of  the  plague  in  that  city,  and  what  was  more  important  to 
us,  that  Sig.  Bilzio  himself  was  in  bed,  with  very  high  fever  and  lived  in  the  very  street  in 
which  the  plague  was  raging  most  severely.  All  this  however  did  not  avail  to  check  our 
curiosity,  as  we  have  obtained  some  pamphlets  from  the  said  Bilzio,  and  been  in  his  house 

*  "  The  three  following  letters  were  written  by  John  Finch,  not  so  much  in  his  own  name,  as  in  that  of  his 
travelling  companion  and  greatest  friend  Thomas  Baines.  Finch  was  a  member  of  a  noble  English  family,  and 
was  very  greatly  esteemed  and  beloved  by  Ferdinand  II,  and  Prince  Leopold.  He  was  appointed  by  them 
Lecturer,  at  Pisa,  in  Anatomy,  in  which  science  he  was  most  proficient.  He  resigned  the  Lectureship  in  May,  1665, 
having  been  appointed  by  his  Sovereign,  Resident  at  the  Court  of  the  said  Grand  Duke  " — note  in  the  Italian. 

•  Evidently  Louis  De  Bilsius  (or  Bils),  whose  supposed  methods  of  preserving  bodies  and  of  dissecting  without 
loss  of  blood,  cau»ed  such  a  stir  in  the  17th  century.     The  States  of  Brabant  are  said  to  have  bought  his  secrets. 

5-2 


36  ENGLAND  [ch. 

while  he  was  confined  to  bed.  We  could  not  give  Y.M.S.H.  an  account  of  our  observations 
previous  to  carrying  out  our  quarantine,  which  noways  diminishes  our  devotion  and  loyalty 
to  Y.M.S.H.,  whose  commands  we  honour  even  when  far  distant. 

The  forty  days  of  quarantine  being  now  expired,  I  shall  give  Y.M.S.H.  particular  notes 
of  our  observations  on  the  three  matters  referred  to  in  my  last.  Sig.  Bilzio  claims  to  possess 
the  art  of  preserving  dead  bodies  with  the  same  colour  as  when  they  were  alive;  it  is  certainly 
true  that  he  succeeds  in  preserving  them  complete,  and  inodorous,  extracting  from  them  only 
the  bowels.  Three  corpses  he  has  prepared,  and  he  maintains,  and  others  believe,  that  all 
the  blood  vessels  and  entrails  are  preserved  in  such  a  manner  that  they  may  be  used  for 
anatomical  purposes  in  summer,  as  well  as  in  winter.  But  only  small  portions  of  the  entrails, 
and  a  few  badly  prepared  blood  vessels,  are  really  to  be  found.  All  the  same,  these  bodies 
have  caused  a  great  talk,  although  the  muscles  are  so  shrivelled  up  that  because  of  their 
smallness,  they  can  scarcely  be  recognized  as  such,  and  even  then  some  of  the  number  are 
missing.  The  States  General  have  conferred  on  Sig.  Bilzio  the  favour  of  being  permitted  to 
charge  one  reale  [one  franc],  from  every  person  desirous  of  seeing  these  bodies. 

Sig.  Bilzio  claims  to  have  the  secret  of  cutting  bodies  without  loss  of  blood  but  demands 
a  very  large  amount  for  divulging  it.  On  my  return  I  shall  bring  with  me  a  pamphlet  printed 
by  him  in  which  he  states  that  he  will  not  disclose  the  said  secret  unless  on  payment  of  the 
sum  he  requires:  that  he  makes  use  of  it  daily;  and  that  by  means  of  it  he  is  able  to  attain 
a  perfect  knowledge  of  the  lymphatic  and  lacteous  vessels,  which  however,  I  do  not  believe; 
what  I  know  for  certain  is,  that  this  way  of  preserving  bodies  was  proposed  and  practised 
by  Pare,  long  before  Bilzio.  This  man  does  not  understand  Latin  or  any  other  language 
but  French  and  Flemish.  He  never  had  any  teacher  of  anatomy,  but  has  a  remarkable 
aptitude  for  dissection,  to  aid  him  in  which  he  used  in  France  to  steal  at  night,  the  bodies  of 
executed  criminals  which  remained  on  the  gallows.  For  the  rest  he  is  a  person  of  no  learning, 
and  unable  to  explain  himself,  for  which  reason  he  excuses  himself  from  giving  reasons. 
I  have  no  faith  in  one  who  boasts  without  good  grounds ;  I  know  however  that  if  his  bodies 
are  worth  paying  a  reale  by  each  one  who  wishes  to  see  them,  our  own  Tavole^  [probably 
anatomical  plates] — a  matter  of  greater  importance — should  suffice  to  make  a  fortune  in 
Holland. 

With  regard  to  the  blind  man  who  distinguishes  colours  by  touch,— we  spent  many  days 
at  Mastricht,  in  talks,  and  in  making  experiments  with  him ;  and  really  it  is  marvellous  to 
see  this  man  know  by  touch  a  pack  of  cards,  play  at  piquet,  and  count  so  exactly,  that  it  is 
impossible  to  deceive  him.  We  observed,  however,  that  at  the  commencement,  he  turned 
and  re-turned  the  cards  two  or  three  times,  before  he  could  or  would  play — and  we  therefore 
suspected,  that  he  might  know  the  cards  by  some  indication  other  than  the  colour;  all  the 
more,  that  he  declined  to  name  any  card  taken  from  another  pack  of  new  cards.  On  this 
account  on  the  following  day  we  invited  him  to  our  room  alone,  and  Mr  Baines  commenced 
by  changing  the  order  of  three  cards,  placing  the  knave  of  hearts  in  the  room  of  the  knave 
of  clubs  and  so  with  the  other  cards;  and  then  gave  into  his  hand,  this  new  pack.  After 
turning  them  over  and  over,  three  or  four  times,  he  commenced  to  play,  but  always  mistook 
these  three  cards,  naming  them  in  the  order  in  which  they  are  usually  placed,  and  not  dis- 
covering the  trick  that  their  places  had  been  changed.  Whence  it  is  evident  that  he  knows 
the  cards  by  some  other  indication  than  that  of  colour;  and  it  is  wonderful  that  by  his  marks, 
invisible  to  us,  he  should  succeed  in  recognizing  cards  he  had  known  months  and  years  before. 
I  tried  him  with  the  cards  daily.  I  am  bringing  both  the  pairs  [  ?  packs],  in  order  that  Y.M.S.H. 
may  see  that  they  have  no  marks.  This  bhnd  man,  however,  cannot  distinguish  cards  if 
they  have  been  very  much  pressed,  and  are  consequently  very  smooth  and  polished.  As 
to  colours  he  recognizes  them  easily  by  touch,  if  the  stuff  he  handles  be  not  extra  fine,  or 
very  coarse  and  of  various  tints.  I  have  with  me  five  different  colours  of  a  striped  stuff, 
accurately  identified  by  him,  very  many  times  (especially  in  the  morning  when  fasting, — 

'  See  p.  7  and  also  .'\ppendix. 


v]  ENGLAND  37 

because,  after  drinking,  even  a  little,  the  sense  of  touch  is  less  deHcate),  and  he  does  this 
with  such  certainty  that  he  taught  us  how  to  distinguish  colours  by  touch,  and  I  have 
written  down  the  differences  of  them,  according  to  his  idea,  which  I  shall  bring  with  me 
along  with  the  striped  stuff,  when  I  return.  This  affair  may  help  to  confirm  our  theory 
about  colours. 

As  regards  the  Waters  of  Spa,  we  were  astonished  to  behold  some  four  or  five  hundred 
ladies  and  gentlemen  who  appeared  in  the  best  of  health.  These  waters  are  a  means  of  bringing 
together  many,  who  would  not  otherwise  easily  have  an  opportunity  of  meeting.  Whence 
from  these  waters,  love,  many's  the  time,  springs  anew.  All  the  same,  we  consider  them 
the  best  we  have  hitherto  experimented  upon,  among  the  acid  waters.  They  have  a  strong 
tincture  of  steel,  or  rather  are  strongly  impregnated  there\vith,  and  we  are  of  opinion  that 
they  are  bound  to  have  great  efficacy  in  curing  obstructions,  purifying  the  breath,  and 
strengthening  the  stomach,  on  which  account  they  must  be  of  special  benefit  in  cases  of 
dropsy,  as  also  of  headaches.  There  are  four  springs  of  different  strengths,  among  which  one 
is  so  strong  as  to  cause  vomiting  in  many  people,  although  for  some  years  back,  its  strength 
has  been  diminishing.  We  have  drunk  the  water  of  all  these  springs,  up  to  seventy  ounces 
of  the  strongest;  and  therewith,  I  most  humbly  make  my  reverence  to  Your  Most  Serene 
Highness. 

Your  M.S.  Highness' 

Most  humble,  devoted,  and  obliged  Servant, 

John  Finch. 

We  can  readily  understand  that  it  is  now  rather  difficult  to  follow  the 
movements  of  the  devoted  pair,  as  they  wrote  few  letters  except  to  the  Conways 
and  no  doubt  some  of  them  are  lost.  Finch's  cousin,  the  Earl  of  Winchilsea, 
Ambassador  at  Constantinople,  constantly  complains  bitterly  in  his  letters  that 
he  has  not  received  word  from  either  of  them.  Finch  and  Baines  were  rather 
poor  correspondents,  it  seems,  but  there  was  some  excuse  for  Baines  on  account 
of  the  tremor  in  his  hand.  This  very  close  friendship  of  Finch  and  Baines  was 
cultivated  at  the  expense  of  other  associations. 

Lord  Winchilsea  writes  to  Henry  Browne  at  "  Lighorne  " : 

1662-3  F^t"-  16  Pera.  That  my  cousin  Finch  and  Dr  Baines  were  again  heard  of  and 
proceeded  on  their  journey  towards  Italy  as  far  as  Lions  was  strange  noveltie  to  mee. 
I  thought  they  were  out  of  the  world,  and  resolved  wholly  to  forget  their  friends,  that  their 
friends  might  as  justly  forget  them.  For  since  my  departure  out  of  England,  now  two  years 
and  a  half  agoe,  I  have  not  received  one  line  or  syllable  from  them  either  in  answer  to  my 
letters,  I  am  assured  were  delivered  to  them,  nor  in  correspondence  to  some  tokens  and 
demonstrations  of  my  affection  I  made  to  Dr  Baines,  which  were  neither  beneath  his  accep- 
tance nor  his  acknowledgement.  I  shall  not  write  to  congratulate  their  arrival  in  Italy, 
but  if  they  at  last  think  me  deserving  of  a  letter,  I  will  answer  it:  but  pra)'  advise  them, 
that  it  will  be  no  sollecisme  or  breach  of  punctualitie  is  (sic)  used  in  Italy  if  I  take  as  much 
time  to  return  answere  to  their  letters  as  allready  they  have  taken  to  answer  mine. 

However  the  miscreants  later  relented  and  Winchilsea  forgave  them  both, 
but  not  without  some  show  of  sarcasm  and  humour,  and  writes  to  Finch^, "}et 
if  you  intend  to  have  a  plenary  indulgence  and  pardon,  you  must  perform  the 

'  Fiticb  Report  (Hist.  MSS.  Comm.),  vol.  i,  p.  247. 


38  ENGLAND  [ch.  v 

penance  of  a  pilgrimage  to  Constantinople,"  and  to  Baines  he  says^,  "I  do 
wish  not  only  for  my  sake  but  also  for  your  owne  that  you  would  see  Constanti- 
nople before  going  into  England."  Many  times  Winchilsea  urges  Finch  and 
Baines  to  visit  him  in  Turkey.  Later  on  in  the  same  year  (8th  April,  1663) 
Winchilsea  writes  to  Finch  "I  send  you  herewith  a  character  (cypher)  that  we 
may  write  the  more  freely  to  each  other." 

Winchilsea,  for  some  years  afterwards,  especially  when  Finch  became 
Ambassador  in  Florence,  kept  up  a  constant  correspondence  with  Finch  and 
writes  often  about  curious  things,  and  makes  medical  enquiries.  On  25th  May, 
1663,  writing  from  Pera,  he  prays  for  "a  ball  to  try  the  goodness  of  water" 
and  some  "antidotes  of  poison." 

'  Loc.  cit.  vol.  I,  p.  247;   same  date,  30th  March,  1663. 


CHAPTER    VI 

LIFE    IN   FLORENCE 

In  1 66 1  Finch  and  Baines  had  sought  the  consent  of  the  College  of  Physicians 
to  go  into  Italy  but  had  not  availed  themselves  of  that  permission.  Ward^ 
quotes  the  following  minute  which  appears  in  the  register,  "Sept.  30th  1661 
Dominus  Johannes  Finch  et  doctor  Baines  summa  cum  urbanitate  veniam 
abeundi  in  Italiam  a  domino  praeside  petierunt,  obtinueruntque." 

Sir  John  Finch  and  Dr  Baines  started  out  from  England  this  time  on 
25th  October,  1662.  In  the  Calendar  of  State  Papers,  1662,  12th  October, 
there  is  an  interesting  entry  giving  Baines  permission  to  leave  Grcsham  College. 

The  King  to  the  Lord  Mayor  of  the  City  of  London,  and  the  masters,  warders,  and 
assistants  of  the  Mercers'  Company.  Gives  license  to  Dr  Thos.  Baines,  Fellow  of  that  College, 
to  go  and  remain  beyond  his  nine  years,  and  requests  that  he  may  receive  meanwhile  all  the 
profits  of  his  fellowship,  any  statutes  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 

They  landed  at  Calais  on  30th  October.  A  few  days  later  the)-  met 
Alderman  Backwell,  who  came  to  receive  "the  money  Dunkirk  was  sold  for" 
and  which,  Finch  tells  us,  arrived  in  "forty-six  carts."  On  this  occasion  the 
friends  remained  in  Italy  for  about  two  and  a  half  years.  Finch  presumably 
working  at  his  Anatomy  and  in  the  hospitals,  whilst  Baines  seems  to  have  been 
of  a  much  more  retiring  disposition  and  devoted  his  time  to  study.  There 
are  few  letters  of  this  period  to  friends  in  England  and  usually  these  record 
that  certain  gifts  of  "choisest  Lucca  oil,"  a  "Parmesan  cheese"  or  "Florence 
mushrooms"  have  been  sent  off. 

In  a  letter^  preserved  in  the  Library  of  Christ's  College  from  Anne  Conway 
to  Henry  More,  dated  5th  December,  1662,  occurs  the  following  passage.     We 

■  Loe.  cit.  p.  229. 

'  A  number  of  letters  from  Anne  Conway  to  Henry  More  were  in  the  possession  of  the  antiquarian  Jame* 
Crossley  of  Manchester,  whose  Hbr.iry  was  sold  after  his  death  in  1885  and  1886.  I  learnt  from  an  old  catalogue  of 
the  sale  that  this  particular  parcel  of  letters  was  sold  for  9$.  to  "Tattcrsall."  .\  letter  of  enquiry  to  E.  Somerv-ille 
Tattersall,  Esquire,  Knightsbridge,  brought  me  a  reply  that  he  had  sent  my  note  on  to  J.  F.  Tattersall,  Esquire,  of 
Lewes,  Sussex.  The  latter  answered  me  that  he  had  bought  the  letters  in  1881;,  and  by  his  kindness  I  was  enabled  to 
trace  their  further  travels.  Mr  Tattersall  disposed  of  two  tea  gtntleman  at  Hastings,  and  these,  being  of  interest  to 
the  Society  of  Friends,  were  presented  to  them,  and  arc  now  in  their  Reference  Libran,-,  in  Bishopsgate  Street, 
where  I  was  allowed  to  sec  them.  The  other  letters  were  given  by  Mr  Tattersall  to  the  Dean  of  Wells  and  he  in 
turn  informed  me  that  he  had  presented  them  to  Christ'*  College.  Mr  Norman  McLean  of  Christ's  has  kindly 
transcribed  for  me  passages  from  these  letters  which  have  any  bearing  on  Finch  and  Baines. 


40  LIFE   IN   FLORENCE  [ch. 

see  that  even  Sir  John  Finch's  sister  thought  she  had  cause  of  complaint  about 
his  neglect  of  letter-writing  and  that  of  Baines. 

I  hear  my  Brother  and  Dr  Baines  are  returned  againe  for  Italy,  I  wonder  you  makes 
no  mention  of  them,  because  you  staied  so  long  in  London,  where  methinks  they  should  have 
made  you  frequent  visitts  and  have  acquainted  you  with  their  intentions,  I  hear  so  little 
from  themselves,  it  makes  me  very  desirous  to  gitt  what  information  I  can  from  others, 
and  therefore  I  hope  )'ou  will  pardon  my  desire  to  know  what  you  have  found  by  them, 
relating  to  their  designes,  if  there  be  any  thing  of  that  kind  which  you  have  forgot  to  Impart 
to 

Dear  Sir 

Your  ever  most  entirely  affectionate  friend 

and  humble   Servant        A.  Conway. 

Sir  John  was  in  high  favour  with  the  Grand  Duke  of  Tuscany,  and  Thomas 
Baines  writes  to  Lord  Conway  that  one  of  the  Duke's  own  coaches  had  been 
assigned  to  them^,  and  in  the  same  note  he  says  that  both  he  and  Finch  are 
failing  in  health.  This  was  in  August,  1663,  and  in  October  "the  Doctors" 
were  preparing  for  the  trip  to  Rome  and  Naples  already  mentioned  (p.  24). 
In  the  middle  of  October  Finch  writes  that  the  Grand  Duke  is  very  kind  and 
that  he  will  send  them  to  Rome  in  one  of  his  litters^.  Prince  Leopold,  the 
Duke's  brother,  gave  them  a  letter  of  introduction  to  one  Michel  Angelo  Ricci^, 
"Hujus  itineris  gratia  has  litter  as  dedit  Leopoldus  Princeps  ad  Michaelwn 
Angelum  Ricciuni  XVII.  Kal.  Octbr.  1663." 

Viene  a  cotesta  volta  il  Sig.  Gio.  Finchio  Cavaliere  Inglese  per  passare  a  Napoli,  ed 
intanto  osservare  costi  quel  che  vi  fusse  di  curioso,  che  non  fusse  stato  da  lui  veduto  1'  altra 
volta  che  fu  in  Roma,  e  conoscere  i  piu  insigni  per  virtu.  Questo  Signore  e  molto  amato, 
e  stimato  dal  Sereniss.  Granduca,  e  da  me,  per  la  sua  virtu,  come  forse  per  la  medesima 
sara  anche  ben  noto  a  VS.  e  si  diletta  grandemente  della  Filosofia,  ricercando  con  curiosita 
non  ordinaria  le  cose  naturali,  e  la  verita  di  esse.  Viene  in  sua  compagnia  il  Sig.  Dott. 
Tommaso  Penis  {sic),  ancor  egli  ripiena  di  virtu,  e  suo  amicissimo:  e  perche  desiderano  d'  avere 
qualche  introduzione  appresso  persona  che  sappia  indirizzargli  accio  possino  sodisfare  al 
loro  virtuoso  genio;  e  sapendo  io  che  il  mezzo  di  VS.  pud  sommamente  essergli  favorevole,  mi 
piglio  sicurta  d'  inviargli  a  Lei,  con  fiducia  che  essi  sieno  per  riconoscere  nel  medesimo  tempo 
la  di  Lei  singolare  cortesia,  e  la  parzialita  del  mio  affetto,  che  anche  in  cio  bramo  di  dimos- 
trargli,  Prego  pero  VS.  a  voler  somministrare  a  detti  Signori  quelle  notizie,  che  li  bisognano, 
e  si  accerti  pure  di  fare  a  me  cosa  gratissima;   mentre  resto  ec. 

This  letter  of  introduction  the  two  travellers  evidently  presented,  for  Sir 
John  jotted  down  notes  of  this  trip  and  quotes  the  opinions  of  Angelus  Ricci 
on  various  subjects.  These  are  in  a  note-book  which  is  amongst  the  papers 
at  Burley-on-the-Hill,  and  the  dates  are  "Roma  24th  Oct.  1663"  and"Neapoli 
Nov.  14th."  This  Ricci  was  probably  Cardinal  Michel  Angelo  Ricci  who  wrote 
Exercitatio  geometrica  de  maxiynis  et  minimis,  London,  1668,  which  was  published 
as  part  of  a  quarto  volume  together  with  a  treatise  by  Mercator. 

'  Calendar  of  State  Papers — Domestic,  1663,  Aug.  3  (f),  p.  226. 

'  Ibid.     15th  Oct.   1663,  p.  302.  '  Fabroni,  he.  cii. 


vi]  LIFE   IN   FLORENCE  41 

The  two  following  letters^  from  Sir  John  Finch  to  Prince  Leopold  describe 
some  events  on  this  trip  to  Naples  and  Rome.  Finch's  interest  in  snakes  has 
already  been  noted.  One  of  his  note-books  contains  a  list  of  the  books  con- 
tained in  the  library  of  M.  Aurelio  Severino,  which  he  and  Baines  purchased. 

To  the  Prince  Leopold. 

Having  arrived  from  Naples  on  Wednesday  evening,  by  the  Grace  of  God  in  good  health, 
we  had  decided  to  return  to  Pisa,  without  making  a  stay — and  had  ordered  the  horses  for 
Monday  morning;  but  having  waited  on  Sig.  Michel  Angelo  Ricci  this  evening,  in  order  to 
deliver  to  him  the  letter  which  Your  Most  Serene  Highness  so  kindly  wrote  him  in  our  favour, 
we  have  been  so  charmed  by  his  conversation,  and  most  distinguished  manners,  that  we  very 
humbly  beg  to  be  excused,  if  we  remain  three  days  more  in  Rome,  so  as  to  enjoy  for  this  short 
time,  so  important  an  acquaintance. 

At  Naples  we  had  very  detailed  particulars  of  Sig.  Tommaso  Cornelio,  a  Mathematician 
and  Physician  of  great  reputation  and  friend  of  Sig.  Michel  Angelo  Ricci:  he  has  written 
a  book  entitled  Progymnasmata  Physica  which  was  printed  at  Venice,  and  one  part  of  which 
is  dedicated  to  Sig.  D.  Alfonso  Borelli^.  He  is  a  follower  of  Descartes  and  a  great  favourer 
of  things  new,  and  on  this  account  is  hated  in  Naples  by  those  who  swear  loyalty  to  their 
old  teachers.  In  his  book  he  says  that  before  Pecquetto^  or  any  other  he  was  the  inventor  of 
the  hypothesis  of  compressing  of  the  air  by  elastic  force.  He  is  a  Calabrian  by  birth  a 
lively  acute  man,  and  like  most  of  his  compatriots  very  hot  tempered. 

It  would  surpass  the  limits  of  a  letter  were  I  to  give  Y.M.S.H.  particulars  of  all  we  have 
done  about  the  natural  phenomena  of  Naples.  We  have  gone  through  some  adventures, 
as  for  instance  on  our  second  visit  to  Mount  Vesuvius,  when  after  wandering  twelve  miles  on 
foot,  notwithstanding  many  guides,  we  did  not  succeed  in  arriving  at  the  top  of  the  crater. 

Then  as  regards  sulphurous  earths, we  made  collections  of  very  beautiful  flowers  of  sulphur: 
of  extremely  fine  sal  ammoniac,  of  mineral  alum,  of  super-fine  nitre,  not  inferior  to  that  of  the 
ancients:  but  seeing  such  a  variety  of  substances  in  that  scorching  ground  which  is  hollow 
below,  as  one  perceives  from  the  booming  sound  made  by  every  stone  cast  upon  it,  we  took 
a  bell-shaped  alembic,  and  collecting  the  smoke  from  the  most  fiery  spots,  to  see  if  oil  of 
sulphur  would  result,  we  extracted  a  phial-full  of  liquid,  which  though  not  acid,  like  artificial 
oil  of  sulphur,  produces  nevertheless  some  effects  proper  to  it — such  as  discolouring  metals 
with  its  smoke,  etc.  All  these  collections,  along  with  that  part  of  the  library  of  M.  Aurelio 
Severino  whicfi  we  purchased  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Kingdom,  we  have  dispatched  to 
Leghorn,  in  order  that  the  Most  Serene  Grand  Duke  and  Y.M.S.H.  may  satisfy  your  curiosity. 

We  also  got  information  as  to  the  way  in  which  manna  is  collected,  and  we  have  sent 
various  kinds  of  it. 

We  thought  it  our  duty  to  give  Y.M.S.H.  this  short  note  of  our  journey.  To-morrow 
morning,  we  have  to  go  to  the  Marchese  Patrizi — proprietor  of  the  Grotto  di  Serpenti  (the 
Serpents'  cave) — to  be  informed  by  him  about  the  place,  and  how  we  should  proceed. 

Would  God  we  could  demonstrate  by  our  doings  the  extreme  desire  we  have  to  serve 
Y.S.H.  in  all  Your  Commands— of  which,  the  more  Y.M.S.H.  deigns  to  lay  upon  us,  the 
more  we  are  favoured,  who  in  all  sincerity  of  heart  full  of  humihty  and  respect,  count  it 
an  honour  to  be  recognized  by  the  whole  worid  for  the  most  reverent  admirers  of  Y.M.S.H.; 
and  wishing  the  Most  Serene  Grand  Duke,  and  the  Most  Serene  House  every  happiness  that 
Heaven  can  bestow:    we  remain 

From  Rome  24  November,  1663.  Giovanni  Finchio. 

'  LftUre  di  i'omini  Illustri,   Florence,   1773. 

2  "  This  part  is  only  a  Latin  letter,  feigned  by  Cornelio  to  have  been  written  by  his  deceased  friend,  Marco 
Aurelio  Severino  Crcttigena  "- note  in  the  Italian. 

'  Thebrilliant  Jean  Pecquet,  who  discovered  the  receptaculumchyli  and  thoracic  duct,  whiUt  still  a  student. 
He  prescribed  "eau-de-vie"  for  ill  ills,  but  for  himself  it  became  an  "eau  de  mort  "  (Bayle). 

6 


42  LIFE   IN   FLORENCE  [ch. 

Jo  the  Prince  Leopold. 

I  return  most  humble  thanks  to  Y.M.S.H.  for  the  most  gracious  letter  delivered  to  me 

by  Sig.  Michel  Angelo  Ricci,  the  evening  before  my  departure  from  Rome.  On  Sunday  I 
arrived  at  Pisa,  having  first  visited  on  the  journey  the  Grotto  di  Serpenti  belonging  to 
Marchese  Patrizi  at  the  Sasso,  to  which  courteous  and  most  kind  nobleman  I  am  particularly 
obliged. 

I  entered  the  cave  by  myself,  which  in  breadth  could  only  hold  a  man  lying  on  the  ground 
and  in  its  greatest  height  does  not  attain  four  feet.  I  waited  for  the  serpents  issuing  forth, 
but  saw  none.  The  people  of  the  place  told  me  that  they  only  came  out  in  the  warm  spring 
weather;  and  the  major  domo  of  the  Marchese  said  that  as  many  as  65  had  been  seen  round 
the  naked  body  of  a  diseased  man.  The  sick  dose  themselves  with  opium,  so  as  not  to  be 
frightened  and  move,  and  so  scare  the  serpents ;  and  it  is  said  that  they,  after  being  licked 
by  the  serpents,  come  out  cured  of  any  skin  disease. 

These  serpents  are  not  poisonous,  that  is  clear  from  the  chance  that  happened  to  a  certain 
person  who  boldly  went  in  naked  without  taking  opium.  Unable  to  bear  a  serpent  on  his 
flesh,  he  squeezed  it  hard  with  the  calf  of  his  leg  and  was  bitten  by  it.  He,  however,  fled 
for  two  miles  without  stopping,  with  the  blood  flowing  from  him,  but  was  otherwise  none  the 
worse.  A  man  of  mean  condition  who  went  in  alone,  after  taking  opium,  was  found  dead 
in  the  cave,  but  this  they  put  down  to  the  excessive  dose  of  opium  taken  by  him,  and  not  to 
the  harmfulness  of  the  serpents. 

The  cave  is  so  hot  that  although  the  door  (which  is  closed  with  bars  when  a  patient  goes 
in)  remained  open,  it  made  me  sweat :  on  which  account  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  those 
few  who  are  cured — if  indeed  there  are  any — are  healed  by  the  action  of  the  Hypocaust, 
or  dry-stove  heat,  which  is  advantageous  in  diseases  of  the  skin. 

It  is  certainly  true  that  there  are  many  serpents  in  that  cave,  because  although  I  did 
not  see  any,  I  noticed  a  number  of  holes  where  they  live,  and  I  collected  several  of  their 
sloughs  which  I  have  brought  with  me,  to  see  if  similar  skins  are  found  elsewhere.  The 
inhabitants,  to  distinguish  them  from  other  serpents,  say  that  these  have  a  white  line  all 
round  the  neck. 

I  have  no  other  notes  to  give  Y.M.S.H.  about  this  journey.  I  beg  Y.M.S.H.  to  excuse 
me  for  wearying  you,  and  kneeling  at  your  feet  (on  behalf  also  of  Sig.  Tommaso)  with  the 
profound  respect  which  our  sincere  devotion  to  your  person  requires  and  commands,  and 
wishing  to  Y.M.S.H.  increase  of  glory,  and  victories,  and  the  highest  happiness  to  all  the 
most  Serene  House;    I  remain 

Giovanni  Finchio. 

The  loth  day  of  December,   1663. 

In  December,  1663,  Finch  reassumed  his  work  as  Lecturer  in  Anatomy  in 
Pisa,  and  Targioni  Tozzetti^  quotes  a  letter  of  "  Pietro  Andriano  Vanden  Brocche" 
[Epistolae,  page  51]:  "Finchius  iam  Titulo  Medici  Reginae  Britanniae  hones- 
tatus,  ante  paucissimas  dies  ad  Professionem  Anatomes  Pisis  rediit.  Octavo 
Kal.  Februarias  in  Theatro  Anatomico,  suum  in  Cadavere  Humano  munus 
auspicabitur.     Incisio  a  Tilmanno  fiet." 

Sir  John  Finch  turned  his  friendship  with  the  Grand  Duke  to  good  account 
by  obtaining  a  position  for  one  of  his  cousins,  Colonel  Charles  Finch.  The 
Earl  of  Winchilsea  in  writing  to  this  brother  about  the  matter  says :  "  I  have  not 
been  un-busy  to  try  to  find  you  some  employment  worthy  of  yourself  and  your 

1  Alii  f  Memorie  inediu  delV  Accademia  del  Cimetuo...F'aeme,  MDCCLXXX,  Tom.  i,  p.  273. 


vi]  LIFE    IN    FLORENCE  43 

family,  and  am  glad  to  hear  from  Sir  John  Finch  that,  by  his  favour  with  the 
Archduke  he  has  obtained  for  you  the  command  of  a  regiment  in  Italy^." 

Finch  and  Baines  came  back  to  England  some  time  in  the  year  1664.,  but 
the  exact  date  is  uncertain  as  the}'  have  left  little  record  of  their  movements. 
Henry  More  had  the  pernicious  habit  of  omitting  to  add  the  year  when  dating 
his  letters  to  Anne  Conway,  but  it  seems  most  probable  that  the  letters,  from 
which  the  following  extracts  are  taken,  were  written  in  1664.  Finch  and  Baines 
had  become  such  old  cronies  in  Italy  that  perhaps  their  ways  appeared  a  httle 
queer  to  their  friends  in  England. 

More  finds  these  "Italians"  past  understanding  and  again  they  come  in 
for  a  measure  of  blame  in  the  matter  of  their  correspondence.  Interesting  hght 
is  shed  on  Baines'  philosophy;  he  did  not  blindly  follow  the  traditions  of  his 
old  tutor.     More  writes  (Brit.  Mus.  Addit.  MSS.  23216,  f.  xx,  212): 

I  had  the  happiness  of  enjoying  Sr  John  Finch  his  company  several!  times  at  London,  to 
whom  I  gave  also  a  copy  of  my  book.  He  tells  me  he  will  read  it  over  very  considerately  at 
Florence  and  does  not  seem  so  confident  of  contrary  conceptions  as  he  did  heretofore. 
Dr  Baines  has  solicited  his  invention  to  tr)-  all  tricks  possible  to  evade  the  force  of  my  reasons, 
but  I  have  not  found  him  successful!  yett.  I  asked  Sir  Johns  opinion  of  the  Letter  of  Resolu- 
tion, because  I  perceived  your  Ladyship  had  a  minde  to  know  it.  He  told  me  the  Authour 
had  vvritt  ingenious!)-  but  not  so  fully  that  several!  other  things  might  be  added  that  would 
make  to  the  same  purpose.  That  was  the  summe  of  his  Answer.  I  gave  Mr  Solicitor 
[Heneage  Finch]  also  one  of  my  Books.  Sr  John  told  me  he  was  resolved  to  read  it  over, 
and  I  think  himself  sayd  as  much  to  me.  And  it  may  not  be  unlikely  if  he  finde  it  worth 
tlie  whyle,  for  he  has  a  fitt  Genius  for  such  things,  as  I  discerned  by  that  little  converse  I 
had  with  him.  .'Vnd  Tully  was  an  excellent  Philosopher  as  well  as  a  famous  Advocate  and 
Oratour.  I  had  the  other  day  two  or  three  hours  discourse  with  Crellius  his  son  and  find 
that  the  want  of  Philosophy  is  most  certainly  the  ground  of  the  Socinians  gross  mistakes  in 
those  grand  points  of  our  Relligion.  But  the  man  was  a  pretty  man,  and  of  a  fair  and  honest 
Temper,  so  farr  as  I  can  discerne.  But  they  are. ..[-uord  illegible]  in  that  low  corporeal! 
dispensation  of  T.B.  [Baines]  that  can  phancy  nothing  but  matter,  and  are  but  Aristoteleans 
in  Philosophy,  or  nothing  at  all.  I  mean,  are  for  his  system  of  the  World,  and  understand 
not  the  laws  of  matter  nor  the  Systeme  of  Des  Cartes,  whose  philosophy  is  the  best  Engine 
I  can  give  against  such  erroneous  fabricks  in  Relligion.  Theres  nothing  more  occurs  to  my 
mind  for  the  present.... 

In  1 67 1  and  1672  More  pubHshed  his  Enchiridion  Metaphysicum  in  which 
he  reveals  a  change  of  view  in  regard  to  Descartes'  philosoph}-,  and  this  fact 
seems  to  show  that  this  letter  was  written  before  these  )'ears. 

And  again  on   29th  August  {ibid.  f.   242)  More  sa)-s : 

Sr  John  promised  me  frequent  letters  too,  and  that  Philosophical!  one,  but  I  do  not  expect 
it,  he  is  the  best  company  that  can  be  present  but  the  least  when  he  is  absent.  If  tliere  were 
none  wiser  than  myself,  I  would  not  have  him  to  go  into  Italy,  but  stay  and  write  his  letters 
here.  I  am  not  certain  that  Dr  Baines  Palsy  was  so  sensibly  encreased  upon  him,  I  beeleewe 
it  is  some  time  more,  sometime  less,  but  methought  he  looked  rather  better  than  he  used  to 
doe.  The  Socinians  are  free  though  in  all  conscience,  and  a  little  too  bold  in  some  respects, 
but  their  Genius  is  too  strait  and  short  for  some  tlunges.     But  what  I  told  you  is  most  certain 

'  Finch  Rtpori  (Hist.  MSS.  Comm.),  vol.  i,  p.  308,  "Pera  26th  April  1664." 

6—2 


44  LIFE   IN   FLORENCE  [cii. 

that  their  great  mistake  in  Divinity,  is  from  their  incapacity  of  conceiving  any  thing  but 
Body  or  Matter.... 

On  14th  Sept.  the  Platonist  writes  (ibid.  f.  246): 

The  ItaHans  are  not  yett  come  to  Cambridge.  I  left  a  very  extraordinary  l<inde  letter 
at  Sr  Heneage  Finches  for  Dr  Baines  to  be  given  him  when  he  returned  to  London,  and  wrote 
also  as  civilly  as  I  could,  to  Sr  John  Finch  to  invite  them  to  Cambridge,  but  I  have  received 
no  letter  from  either  of  them.     I  understand  nothing  of  the  Italian  Genius.... 

In  March,  1665,  Finch  was  appointed  to  be  King  Charles  IPs  Resident  at 
Florence,  at  the  court  of  the  Grand  Duke  of  Tuscany.  Sir  John  insisted  that 
Baines  must  go  with  him  to  Italy.  It  is  sometimes  said  that  Baines  acted  as 
Physician  to  the  Embassy,  but  he  is  not  mentioned  as  such  in  the  letters.  It 
has  been  stated  that  Baines  was  knighted  on  this  occasion,  but  in  the  Calendar 
0/  State  Papers  I  find  him  first  mentioned  as  "Sir  Thomas"  on  12th  May,  1673. 
Baines  could  not  have  spent  much  of  his  time  at  his  work  as  Professor  of  Music, 
and  on  the  occasion  of  this  departure.  Sir  Andrew  Clark  agreed  to  provide  a 
reader  in  his  place  at  Gresham  College.  Finch  also  made  the  necessary  arrange- 
ments for  leaving  England  and  sold  his  house  (now  Kensington  Palace)  to  his 
brother  Heneage,  who,  in  turn,  left  it  to  his  son  Daniel,  second  Earl  of  Notting- 
ham, and  in  1689,  Nottingham  House,  as  it  was  then  called,  was  purchased  by 
King  William  III. 

Pepys  in  his  Diary  writes  of  riding  out  to  Kensington  and  "...going  into 
Sir  H.  Finche's  garden  and  seeing  the  fountayne,  and  singing  there  with  the 
ladies,  and  a  mighty  cool  place  it  is,  with  a  great  laver  of  water  in  the  middle 
and  the  bravest  place  for  musique  I  ever  heard." 

Anthony  Wood^  thus  describes  Finch's  arrival  in  Italy : 

Upon  his  arrival  at  Florence,  Sir  Bernard  Gascoigne  (a  known  friend  to  the  English 
nation)  did  with  an  undeniable  Civility  press  him  to  take  quarter  at  his  own  House,  till  he 
should  be  farther  provided :  which  he  accordingly  accepted,  and  the  Duke  was  pleased  to 
employ  the  said  Sir  Bernard  to  his  Majesty's  Resident,  with  such  notices  and  respects  as  he 
found  then  convenient.  In  the  end  all  things  being  agreed  upon,  as  to  the  manner  and 
dignity  of  his  Reception,  the  said  Resident  made  entry  in  a  very  noble  Coach,  being  attended 
with  an  answerable  train,  in  rich  Liveries,  and  a  great  number  of  other  Coaches,  beside  the 
whole  Factory  of  Leghorn,  who  very  kindly  appeared  in  a  handsom  equipage  to  do  him  all 
possible  honour.  Thus  attended  he  went  to  the  Palace,  and  received  Audience  first  from 
the  Great  Duke,  and  two  days  after  from  the  Dutchess  and  Prince,  acquiting  himself  with 
a  singular  grace  throughout  the  whole  Ceremony. 

This  was  an  important  appointment  for  Sir  John  Finch,  but  his  contem- 
poraries did  not  think  him  unworthy  of  the  honour.  The  Earl  of  Winchilsea 
writes  to  Heneage  Finch^: 

Yours  of  the  9th  March  I  received  the  21st  of  June,  and  cannot  but  congratulate  the 
honour  his  Majestie  hath  donne  my  cousin  John,  whose  meritts  having  mett  with  such  an 

'  Loc.  cil.  vol.  II,  Fasti  p.  59.  2  ^q^.  cit.  vol.  i,  p.  379.     June  25th,  1665. 


vi]  LIFE   IN   FLORENCE  45 

employment,  hath  now  an  opportunity  of  shewing  the  world  those  abilities  he  is  master  oflE 
and  honouring  our  family  as  much  abroad  as  you  do  att  home. 

It  is  rather  remarkable  that  in  the  year  1666  three  members  of  the  Finch 
family  should  be  occupying  such  important  positions ;  Heneage  was  Sohcitor 
General  at  that  time,  his  brother  was  Ambassador  at  Florence,  and  their  cousin 
Heneage,  fifth  Earl  of  Winchilsea,  was  King  Charles'  representative  at  the  Porte. 
Finch's  usefulness  at  Florence  to  the  English  Government  is  well  set  forth  in 
two  letters  of  the  Earl  of  Arlington,  then  Secretary  of  State,  to  the  Earl  of 
Winchilsea : 

...and  I  may  with  truth  say  I  have  had  the  good  luck  of  late  to  have  given  my  hand 
to  the  establishing  your  cousin,  Sir  John  Finch,  in  an  employment  in  Italy,  which  I  hope 
will  not  only  bee  to  his  Majestie's  advantage  and  his  own  satisfaction,  but  your  E.xcellencie's 
also,  in  finding  such  a  hand  in  the  midway  through  which  wee  may  correspond  better  in 
the  future^. 

And  again: 

I  hope  your  Excellencie  having  Sir  John  Finch  for  your  correspondent  soe  much  nearer 
than  we  are  and  the  means  of  sending  to  you,  you  will  not  have  cause  to  complain  of  the  want 
of  knowing  all  our  news*. 

Winchilsea  made  other  use  of  Finch  than  in  diplomatic  matters,  as  we  have  noted 
before,  and  used  to  send  money  to  his  agents  in  Leghorn  in  order  that  Sir  John 
might  "purchase  pictures,  statues  and  medals." 

There  was  no  important  political  crisis  during  Finch's  term  of  office  at 
Florence  and  most  of  his  official  correspondence  deals  with  very  minor  trade 
disputes  and  such-like.  However  he  seems  to  have  done  this  kind  of  work  well, 
and  the  MSS.  preserved  at  the  Bodleian  Library^  reveal  how  punctilious  he  was 
in  the  preparation  of  his  speeches  to  the  Grand  Duke  and  of  his  reports  on 
apparently  very  trifling  matters. 

Some  extracts  from  these  MSS.  may  be  of  some  interest,  as  they  throw 
light  upon  certain  trade  disputes.  The  other  documents  are  concerned  with 
certain  matters  described  at  much  greater  length  in  cypher  letters  of  Sir  John 
Finch  to  his  brother-in-law  Viscount  Conway  which  I  have  summarized  (vide 
infra). 

MS.  Rawl.  A.  478, /o.  i. 

[Heading]  "Extract  of  a  letter  of  Sr  J.  Finch.     March  8.     i6g|." 

Suggests  that  for  some  grievances,  not  named,  "the  Duke  of  Florence  pay  for  them  by 
Ounces  by  a  severe  Treaty,"  and  he  "must  stoop,  or  else  the  trade  of  Florence  silks  is  lost 
and  Florence  and  Legorne  ruined." 

Continues  about  Algiers,  and  English  Mediterranean  shipping.  Algerians  have  seized 
English  ships,  which  are  much  too  small  and  have  no  guns,  but  are  loaded  with  rich  commo- 
dities.    Suggests  burning  some  of  their  (Algerians)  ships  in  port,  which  would  diminish 

'  Loc.  cit.  vol.  I,  p.  369.     April  20th,  1665.  '  Loc.  cii.  vol.  i,  p.  395.     Sept.  13th,    1665. 

^  Rawl.  MSS.  A.  477,  pp.  100,  129-131 ;  A.  478,  pp.  i,  120,  132. 


46  LIFE   IN   FLORENCE  [ch. 

their  strength  and  scare  them.  Afterwards  when  peace  was  made,  only  ships  of  force  to  be 
sent  out,  to  go  out  from  England,  and  return  to  England  or  Holland,  not  to  stay  in  Medi- 
terranean as  a  constant  temptation  to  the  Barbary  coast.  These  larger  ships  would  also 
act  as  Convoy  ships,  and  receive  money  from  smaller  ships.  At  present  English  ships  went 
under  Genoese  Convoy  ships. 

j4t  the  end  of  this  letter  is  this  note  in  the  same  hand  : 

The  answer  to  this  of  the  26.  March  1669.  I  have  offered  your  last  proposition  to  his 
Majesty  and  R.  Highnesse  who  approue  your  invention  in  it  but  cannot  yet  conclude  it 
practicable. 

MS.  Rawl.  A.  478,  ff.  120-142V. 

Copy  in  Italian  and  English  of  a  letter  from  Sir  J.  Finch  to  the  Grand  Duke  of  Tuscany, 
representing  English  grievances.     Dated  Florence,  Mar.  21.   1671.     Very  long. 

Includes  in  this  one  memorial,  what  was  in  his  other  memorials  of  Nov.  2.  and  Feb.  4. 

1.  Asks  that  woollen  manufactures  and  other  merchandise  from  His  Majesty's  Kingdoms 
or  Plantations  to  Legorn  with  Bills  of  Health,  may  be  freely  brought  on  shore  without  being 
sent  to  the  Lazaretto  to  make  Quarantena.  istly:  because  English  Factors  lost  the  benefit 
of  the  market  for  their  sale.  2ndly:  charges  of  Lazaretto  heavy.  3rdly:  the  opening  of 
their  goods  in  the  Lazaretto  predjudicial  to  them.  Goods  from  France,  Venice,  etc.,  not  thus 
exposed.     4thly :    not  done  in  former  times. 

2.  Second  demand  is  that  all  woollen  manufactures  made  in  the  Dominions  of  his 
Majesty  may  be  freely  sold  throughout  the  whole  State  of  His  Highness,  paying  only  same 
duty  as  was  paid  before  the  prohibition  of  their  sale  throughout  the  whole  state. 

3.  Third  demand.  All  Consolati  (or  Consolages)  are  made  by  Captains  and  Mariners 
either  to  obtain  averages  upon  the  goods  they  carry  in  consideration  of  dammages  they 
pretend  to  have  happened  to  their  ships ;  or  to  be  freed  from  paying  a  penalty  to  the  Merchants 
for  not  consigning  their  goods  in  good  condition.  He  demands  that  English  captains  be  not 
permitted  to  make  "Consolati,"  but  that  they  shall  be  left  to  the  English  maritime  laws, 
the  Tribunals  being  exorbitant  and  unfair. 

4.  Fourth  demand  that  all  English  slaves  in  Algiers  or  elsewhere,  that  shall  be  ransomed 
and  brought  to  Legorn,  shall  be  putt  into  perfect  liberty;  and  not  be  subject  to  imprisonment 
or  sequester,  or  be  summoned  before  Tribunals  for  any  pretensions  that  they  have  not  paid 
their  ransom.     Refers  to  the  case  of  Armiger. 

5.  That  the  number  of  guards  upon  ships  be  reduced.  That  the  Public  Health  was 
preserved  when  only  one  guard  was  allotted  to  one  ship,  and  is  still  sufficient  in  other  neigh- 
bouring ports. 

Thanks  him  for  his  assurances  of  strict  orders  for  keeping  the  Custom-house  books  of 
Legorn  in  giorno :  also  for  remedying  abuses  in  weighing  at  the  Public  Stadera,  and  for  allowing 
him  to  use  his  Tribunals  for  abbreviating  lawsuits.  Does  not  question  but  he  will  grant 
these  demands  also. 

In  the  autumn  of  1665  Daniel  Finch,  son  of  Heneage,  was  sent  out  to  Italy 
to  further  his  education.  In  the  Burley  papers  there  are  many  letters  from  his 
parents  and  brother  to  the  studious  young  man.  Finch  and  Baines  acted  as 
Daniel's  guardians,  and  the  latter  evidently  was  the  lad's  tutor  and  was  able 
to  give  him  much  of  that  advice  at  which  the  father  had  smiled!  We  learn 
from  these  letters  in  what  high  esteem  both  medical  men  were  held.  "Your 
letter  from  Florence  pitts  an  end  to  our  doubts  caused  by  that  from  Venice, 


vi]  LIFE   IN   FLORENCE  47 

you  being  now  in  such  good  hands  as  my  uncle  and  Dr  Baines^."  To  the  son*: 
"I  have  written  to  your  uncle  to  desire  him  to  settle  the  rates  you  are  to  pay 
for  living  there,  which  is  absolutely  necessary  to  bee  done  and  of  which  he  is 
the  truest  judge,  nor  can  I  suffer  you  to  Hve  at  his  charge... When  any  occasion 
shall  draw  you  to  see  any  other  part  of  Italy,  if  Dr  Baines  can  bee  prevayled  with 
to  protect  you  with  his  company  and  advice  in  your  journey  you  are  happy. 
But  bee  sure  you  beare  the  whole  expense  of  so  much  time."  And  Elizabeth, 
Lady  Finch  (daughter  of  Dr  William  Harvey's  younger  brother  Daniel),  writes 
when  she  learns  that  her  son  has  reached  Florence,  "my  mind  is  at  rest." 
Father  to  son,  7-1 7th  December,  1666,  "I  know  the  care  and  kindness  of 
Dr  Bayncs,  and  desire  to  return  him  my  hearty  thanks^." 

In  a  letter  to  Sir  Heneage  Finch,  the  Earl  of  Winchilsea  wishes  that  his  son 
also  could  go  out  to  Italy  in  order  that  he  might  take  advantage  of  all  that 
such  a  trip  would  offer  to  a  young  man,  and  that  Finch  and  "the  Doctor"  might 
"overlook  him  for  a  few  months."  Winchilsea's  opinion  of  Sir  John  could 
scarcely  be  higher: 

...for  I  noe  (sic)  no  gentleman  either  in  England  or  out  of  it  soe  capable  to  doe  great 
things  in  the  breeding  of  my  son  as  he,  and  he  is  of  such  honour  and  worth  and  soe 
experimented  in  the  world  that  if  I  were  to  advise  the  king  for  a  Gouvenour  of  a  Prince  of 
Wales  (when  it  shall  please  God  to  bless  him  with  one)  I  should  prefer  my  cousin  your 
brothei-*. 

This  is  the  greatest  praise,  even  if  due  allowance  be  made  for  the  manner  of 
expressing  it  in  those  very  poUte  days. 

Several  times  I  have  come  across  short  "songs"  and  poems  in  the  note- 
books or  commonplace  books  of  Sir  John  Finch.  Some  of  the  verses  were 
"designed  for  my  dear  Lady  Conway,  now  in  heaven,"  as  he  described  them  in 
one  of  the  books.  One  of  the  "songs"  begins  with  the  hne  "All  Pow'rfull 
God!  whom  nought  can  Disobey,"  and  another  "Thou  bad  Enquirer  of  the 
Birth  of  111!^"  Finch  must  have  been  in  a  very  sad  mood  indeed  when  he 
wrote  the  following  poem  and  seems  to  have  taken  a  morbid  pleasure  in  his 
sorrows.     Was  it  written  after  the  voluntary  close  to  his  love  affair? 

Build  me  my  Mansion  in  a  Cypresse  Grove 

Hallow'd  by  Dirges  of  the  Turtle  Dove, 

Where  the  Wood  Echoes  out  the  Nightly  howl 

Of  Hungry  Wolves,  and  the  Shrill  Screeching  Owl, 

Where  the  Pale  Shadows  of  the  Silent  Night 

By  their  Glidings  Mortalls  doe  affright. 

Where  that  the  closeweav'd  Boughs  forbid  each  Ray 

And  sable  Shades  blott  out  the  cheerful  Day, 

*  Loc.  cit.  vol.  I,  p.  403.     Nov.  29th,  1665.  -  Loc.  at.  vol.  i,  p.  403.     Nov.  30th,  1665,  O.S. 
'  Loc.  cit.  vol.  I,  p.  445.  '  Loc.  cit.  vol.  i,  p.  423. 

*  Also  referred  to  in  Calendar  of  State  Papers — Domestic,  1668-1669,  p.  659. 


48  LIFE   IN   FLORENCE  [ch. 

Where  awful  Flashes  of  the  Blackened  Sky 

Through  Trees  more  dark  their  Clearings  multiply. 

And  Thunders  from  the  Hills  redoubled  make 

The  unshorne  ClifFes  with  Men  and  Beasts  to  quake 

Amidst  some  Craggy  Rocks,  whose  aged  Heads 

From  their  Amazing  Heights  doe  Roaring  Shed 

Large  Streames;    whose  chafing  murmurs  as  they  goe 

Fill  with  confusion  all  the  Plaines  below. 

Hang  me  my  Room  with  Black,  and  as  in  Urnes 

Let  there  some  dully  shining  Taper  burn. 

Whilst  that  the  Glimmering  Hght  which  faintly  streames 

Spreads  Universall  Sadnesse  with  its  Beames. 

Blest  Solitude  free  from  all  Eyes  and  Ears, 

From  busy  noise,  fond  mirth,  vain  Hopes  and  Tears. 

Bury'd  alive  in  this  forgotten  Cell 

Where  Horrour  Cares  and  wretched  I  doe  dwell. 

Here  will  I  sitt  and  sigh  and  weeping  Sing, 

Banish  all  Joys  but  what  my  Tears  doe  bring. 

Till  that  my  Drooping  soul  with  Woes  opprest, 

On  the  soft  mossy  Floor  finds  Peaceful  Rest. 

There  can  be  little  doubt  that  Henry  More  referred  to  this  poem  in  the 
following  letter  written  to  Anne  Conway  from  "C.C.C."  (Christ's  College,  Cam- 
bridge), 23rd  March,  1666-7^,  but  the  verses  are  not  to  be  found  with  More's  letters, 

...I  quite  forgott  to  send  you  Sr  John  Finch's  verses,  but  I  knowe  not  whether  my  for- 
gettfulness  in  this  point  or  my  mindfulness  were  the  more  tolerable.  They  are  a  very 
melancholy  copy  of  verses  and  it  is  in  obedience  to  your  Ladishipp's  commands  more  than 
my  allowance  of  my  own  judgment  that  makes  me  send  them.  I  have  sent  you  the  originall, 
but  keep  a  copy  of  them  myselfe,  as  an  ingenious  monument  of  Sr  John  his  Melancholy. 
There  is  that  of  a  poetical  character  in  them,  but  your  Ladishipp  is  so  well  fortifyd  with  the 
sacred  principles  of  Christianity  and  Philosophy  that  you'll  easily  remember  that  your 
brother's  mournful  muse  is  but  like  a  melancholy  fitt  of  musick,  reaches  only  the  passions, 
offers  nothing  of  reason  why  we  should  be  sad.  Whatever  though  of  Theologicall  or  Philo- 
sophicall  difficulty  insinuated  in  the  verses,  I  knowe  your  Ladishipp  will  easily  solve,  which 
makes  me  rest  the  more  satisfyed  with  my  adventure  of  sending  them.  They  talke  of  hopes 
of  peace,  I  pray  God  send  it.  Your  Ladishipp  will  not  do  well  to  lett  Mrs  Foxcroft  read 
those  verses  wthout  this  Antidote.  The  Referees  of  her  husband's  case  have,  or  will, 
report  to  the  King,  that  they  have  concluded  as  most  fitt  that  Sr  Edward  Winter  and  her 
son  be  sent  for  hither  into  England,  but  that  Mr  Foxcroft  keepe  his  place  there  where  he  is. 
This  Dr  Whichcoate  told  me  this  day,  for  very  good  news.  I  was  with  her  son  Ezekiel  and 
communicated  her  postscript  to  him.... 

Dr  Whichcote  was  one  of  the  group  of  Cambridge  Platonists. 

Mrs  Foxcroft  was  apparently  an  almost  constant  visitor  at  Ragley:  she 
was  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Christopher  Whichcote  and  niece  of  Dr  Whichcote. 
Her  sister  Mary  married  John  Worthington  (1618-1671),  Master  of  Jesus  College 
and  a  friend  of  More,  who  presented  the  latter  to  the  living  of  Ingoldsby 
in  1667.  Worthington's  Diary  and  Correspondence  was  edited  by  the  late 
James  Crossley  of  Manchester. 

1  Brit.  Mus.  Addit.  MSS.  23216,  p.  90. 


vi]  LIFE   IN   FLORENCE  49 

Sir  Edward  Winter  (162 2- 1686)  was  agent  at  Fort  George  (Madras)  and  in 
the  Dictionary  of  National  Biography  an  account  is  given  of  his  quarrel  with 
George  Foxcroft  who  was  sent  out  to  succeed  him.  Winter  brought  up  a  charge 
of  treason  against  Foxcroft  on  a  sHght  pretext  and  had  him  and  also  Foxcroft's 
son  arrested,  and  claimed  the  place  of  agent  again.  This  happened  in  the 
autumn  of  1665,  but  the  news  did  not  reach  London  tiU  early  in  the  year  1666-j. 
Winter  had  friends  in  court  but  it  was  not  until  April,  1667,  that  Charles  II 
signed  an  order  to  Winter  to  surrender  the  fort,  and  it  was  only  when  six 
armed  vessels  appeared  before  the  fort  of  Madras  in  May,  1681,  that  the  order 
was  finally  obeyed. 

In  the  spring  of  1667  Baines  went  with  his  protege  Daniel  on  a  trip  to 
Rome  and  Naples.  Thus  Finch,  for  practically  the  first  time  since  they  had 
met,  was  separated  from  his  bosom  companion  and  in  his  solitude  writes  from 
Livorno  on  Sunday  "Aprill  i5-25th"  to  his  "Dearest  Dear"  a  long  and  very 
characteristic  letter.  This  goes  a  long  way  to  reveal  his  thoughts  on  friendship 
and  is  an  apologetic  for  those  men  who  feel  that  they  can  have  but  few  close 
friends. 

When  I  most  seriously  consider  what  is  that  most  endears  to  us  the  thing  which  we  call 
life:  I  am,  I  professe  extreamly  at  a  losse  to  rayse  the  esteem  and  Value  wee  sett  upon  it. 
For  if  I  am  to  speak  as  a  Christian  the  enjoying  this  World  is  the  renouncing  of  it;  mortifyca- 
tion  and  self  denyal  being  the  badges  of  them  who  have  anything  else  to  entitle  them  to 
Christianity  besides  theyr  Baptisme:  and  I  apprehend  this  reluctancy  so  essentiall  a  point 
in  taking  up  the  Cross,  that  if  any  by  the  Melancholy  of  their  Temper  were  carry'd  on  the 
same  practises  with  delight  which  I  with  much  naturall  Aversion  found  myselfe  to  undertake: 
I  cannot  apprehend  that  what  is  Height  of  Christianity  in  mee,  would  amount  to  common 
Morality  in  them.  Actions  of  Religion  and  Morality  receiving  their  Determinations  from 
the  inner  Principle  they  flow  from :  and  not  from  any  externall  appearances,  which  are  either 
good,  indifferent,  or  bad  according  to  the  intention  that  gave  them  being:  If  I  speake  as  a 
Philosopher,  there  is  nothing  that  renders  our  life  more  to  be  valued  then  ('«V)  that  of  Brutes 
but  Discourse  with  each  other  and  the  result  of  that  friendship  wee  make  from  a  similitude  in 
our  Sentiments  and  Inclinations  and  Religion  from  which  the  Philosopher  is  by  no  means  to 
be  excluded. 

As  to  Discourse  there  so  few  Persons  who  know  how  to  discourse  and  so  few  of  them 
brought  to  our  knowledg  and  acquaintance  with  whom  wee  desire  a  Discourse:  and  of  them 
so  many  yet  fewer  wee  desire  to  have  friendship  with  that  I  thinke  what  our  Grandfather 
Sir  Moyle  Finch  told  our  father  when  hee  said  hee  had  spent  ^80  upon  a  supper  for  his  friends 
at  Cambridge:  that  he  who  had  more  years  and  experience  could  gett  all  his  friends  at  a 
little  round  table  in  his  study  which  held  not  above  six  Persons:  might  be  applied  to  all 
Mankind  for  I  should  much  question  how  that  he  who  has  numerous  friendships  had  none 
at  all,  so  then  this  Great  World  that  considered  in  Generall  is  of  so  Vast  a  consideration: 
reduc'd  into  its  naturall  bignesse  as  to  Us  consists  but  of  6  or  8  Persons  and  if  wee  are  rich, 
a  few  Acres  of  Ground  more  than  our  neighbour  possesses...^. 

He  continues  that  "hfe  is  a  'probation,'"  speaks  of  one  being  "entangled  with 
the  birdhme  of  the  world,"  and  refers  to  Anne  Conway's  life  as  a  "perpetuall 

>  Brit.  Mu».  Addit.  MSS.  23215,  I.  50. 


50  LIFE   IN   FLORENCE  [ch. 

crosse  and  self  denyall."     He  closes  with  the  words  that  nothing  would  make 

him  more  happy  than  to  see  her. 

Whilst  in  Rome  Baines  met  "Mr  Boyle"  (Roger  Broghill,  eldest  son  of  the 

first  Earl  of  Orrery)  and  his  tutor  Mr  Hall.     Baines  writes^  of  the  illness  of  the 

Pope,  and  of  the  trouble  into  which  a  Dutch  Baron  got  himself.     The  latter 

killed  one  of  the  Pope's  guards  in  trying  to  force  his  way  into  the  ceremony  of 

washing  the  Pilgrims'  feet  on  Holy  Thursday, 

this  year  performed  by  Cardinall  Barbarino  as  the  Pope  is  sick  with  ulcer  of  the  bladder  and 
very  likely  to  die;  all  the  prisoners  are  removed  out  of  the  common  gaoles  into  the  strong 
castell  of  Saint  Angelo  for  feare  as  soon  as  the  Pope  is  dead  the  keepers  let  open  the  prison 
dores,  otherwise  the  people  would  break  them  open. 

At  this  time,  too,  Baines  sent  some  presents  to  the  Conways,  and  Finch 
evidently  opened  Baines'  letter  to  Conway  and  supplemented  his  friend's 
description  of  the  articles,  for  he  writes : 

The  Doctor  sent  your  Lordship  these  from  Rome  and  he  forgott  to  mention  in  his  letter; 
Brescia  Pistole  Barrells,  he  sent  your  Lordship,  with  the  cap  (one  of  the  Great  Duke's). 
Those  things  he  sends  my  sister  which  were  given  him  by  the  Great  Duke  are  of  singular  use 
for  her  that  keeps  her  bed  being  very  ingenious  contrivances  to  sit  at  all  heights  in  the  bed 
and  have  the  use  of  a  table.  It  goes  upon  screws,  and  everything  is  to  be  unscrewed;  the 
glasse  within  the  bed  pan  is  to  be  taken  out  by  unscrewing  the  handle  and  taking  the  handle 
quite  of  (sic)  for  then  it  opens.     All  the  other  screws  are  obvious  enough^. 

Anne  Conway  was  at  this  time  stiU  in  very  poor  health  and  Finch  was  quite 
correct  in  his  opinion,  expressed  to  Lord  Conway,  that  nothing  could  be  done 
for  her: 

...I  resolved  not  to  write  till  I  could  send  the  studyed  Advice  of  Dr  Baines  for  my  sister: 
for  though  he  be  my  Dear  friend  your  Lordship  must  not  thinke  it  my  partiality,  but  my 
persuasion  that  when  I  tell  your  Lordship  that  He  nor  no  man  can  cure  her.  My  Lord  I 
send  it  here  to  your  Lordship  enclos'd :  and  I  hope  God  Almighty  has  strengthen'd  him  to 
be  usefull  where  above  all  things  in  this  World  I  dare  swear  he  wishes  to  doe  good^. 

Henry  More  induced  Anne  Conway  to  try  many  doctors,  but  some  of  these 
must  be  placed  in  the  class  of  quacks.  Valentine  Greatrakes,  "the  renowned 
Irish  stroker,"  treated  her,  and  Viscount  Conway  writes  to  his  secretary  Rawdon 
in  high  hope  that  this  man  would  cure  his  wife  of  her  headaches  (Rawdon  papers). 
But  in  spite  of  all  attempted  remedies  Anne  Conway  suffered  terribly,  and  only 
death  itself  brought  a  happy  release. 

In  the  same  letter  Finch  gives  the  outline  of  a  dispute,  which  had  arisen 
through  the  fact  that  a  Captain  Hubbard  had  arrived  at  the  port  of  Livorno 
with  a  squadron  and  had  not  saluted  the  port.  This  was  the  occasion  for 
addresses  to  the  Grand  Duke,  as  a  protest  was  made  against  the  English 
Captain's  sin  of  omission.     Finch's  plea  was  that  the  guns  ashore  never  returned 

1  Brit.  Mus.  Addii.  MSS.  23215,  f.  52.  "  Ibid.  i.  +6*. 

2  Ibii.  f.  54,  Florence,  July  2-12,  1667. 


Phte  VI 


From   portrait  b)'  Carlo  Dolci  at   15urle\ -oii-thc-Hil 


vi]  LIFE    IN    FLORENCE  51 

a  salute,  if  given,  and  finally  the  matter  was  settled  by  the  forts  giving  back 

the  salute,  gun  for  gun,  "nine  apiece."     The  Ambassador  Finch  considered  this 

a  tremendous  concession  on  the  part  of  Tuscany  and  describes  the  return  of 

the  salute  as   "a   respect   beyond  all  the   Kings   of  Christendom."     A  cypher 

letter  to  Conway  goes  into  more  detail  about  this  incident. 

From  hints  in  the  letters  and  from  facts  that  have  been  mentioned  already, 

we  learn  that  the  health  of  the  friends  was  not  always  of  the  best.     Heneage 

Finch  mentions  this  matter  in  writing  to  his  son:    "...I  am  glad  your  uncle  did 

so  soon  recover  his  indisposition... I  would  to  God  Dr  Baynes  were  freed  from 

the   payns  of  the  stone,  and  from  all  apprehensions  of  its  retourne^."     How 

often  has  not  the  "racking"  stone  gone  with,  and  been  part  of,  the  life  of  a 

hard  student !    Baines  himself  describes  this  attack  of  stone  in  a  letter  to  Conway 

dated  "Flor.  Aug.  11,  1667": 

...my  tardancy  in  answering  it  proceeded  not  from  the  want  of  duty  or  sence  I  had  of  so  high 
an  obligation:  but  from  the  immensity  of  the  distemper  of  the  stone  I  then  laboured  under: 
voyding  in  the  space  of  eighteen  dayes  at  least  eight  or  nine  hundred  stones  from  my  right 
kidney,  which  leaving  mee  very  weake...but  now  beyond  all  men's  expectation  and  my  owne 
reason  I  am  thanks  bee  to  God  in  appearance  returned  to  my  former  condition.  God  knows 
how  long  it  will  last*. 

I  can  find  no  trace  of  any  pictures  of  Finch  and  Baines  except  those  now 
hanging  at  Burley-on-the-Hill.  Besides  the  portrait  of  Sir  John  Finch  at  his 
Studies  by  Van  Hoogstraaten  there  are  two  more  of  him  at  Burley  and  also 
two  of  his  friend  Baines.  Sir  John  never  lived  at  Burley,  for  the  present  magni- 
ficent house  was  built  by  Daniel  Finch  about  1700,  some  time  after  Sir  John's 
death.  The  portraits  were  inherited  by  Daniel,  and  these  and  a  large  number 
of  the  books  of  Finch  and  Baines  were  taken  to  Burley.  Miss  Pearl  Finch,  in 
her  book  History  of  Burley-on-the-Hill,  mentions  only  three  portraits,  which  have 
as  their  subject  either  Finch  or  Baines,  but  two  more  have  been  brought  to  light 
since  her  catalogue  of  the  pictures  was  compiled.  All  the  pictures  were  cleaned 
after  the  fire  and  no  doubt  the  names  on  these  two  have  come  out.  They  are 
of  "the  Doctors"  as  much  younger  men  (Plates  IV  and  V)  "and  are  evidently 
the  work  of  some  competent  EngUsh  painter  of  the  period'." 

Present  members  of  the  Finch  family  tell  me  that  there  has  been  a  tradition 
since  1750  that  the  two  splendid  portraits  (Plates  VI  and  VII)  are  by  Carlo  Dolci 
(1616-1686).  He  was  a  Florentine  painter,  was  an  extremely  religious  man,  and 
for  the  most  part  painted  pictures  of  Christ  or  of  members  of  the  Holy  Family. 
However  he  painted  more  than  one  portrait  of  himself,  one  of  the  Archbishop 
of  Florence,  and  several  others.  These  portraits  of  Finch  and  Baines  are  unsigned, 
nor  do  either  of  them  mention  these  pictures  in  their  letters. 

'  Finch  Rrpori  (Hist.  MSS.  Comm.),  vol.  i,  p.  467. 

2  Brit.  Mus.  Addii.  MSS.  2321;,  f.   58. 

^  Lionel  Oust  .ind  .Arcbibald  Ma'loch,  he.  cii. 

7-2 


52  LIFE    IN    FLORENCE  [ch. 

By  the  merest  chance  I  found  a  reference  in  one  of  Gio.  Targioni  Tozzetti's 
works  (Jtti  e  Memorie  inedite  dell'  Accademia  del  Cimento  e  Notizie  Aneddote 
dei  Progressi  delle  Scienze  in  Toscatia,  Firenze,  mdcclxxx)  to  a  sketch  of  the 
life  of  Carlo  Dolci^  by  Filippo  Baldinucci  (i 624-1 696)  which  proves  that  this 
artist  painted  portraits  of  Finch  and  Baines.  There  seems  little  reason  to  doubt 
that  the  portraits  at  Burley  to  which  the  family  tradition  is  attached  are  the 
ones  spoken  of  by  Baldinucci.  I  quote  the  passage  at  length,  as  other  pictures 
by  Carlo  Dolci  and  bought  by  Finch  are  referred  to. 

...Equally  with  every  other  work  of  his  at  Florence  was  esteemed  the  Erodiade  [Herodias] 
with  the  head  of  John  Baptist,  a  more  than  half  life  size  figure  executed  for  the  Marquis 
Ronuccini,  with  the  other  picture  of  David  holding  the  dead  head  of  the  Philistine  Giant  as 
a  pendant.  Nevertheless  of  the  Erodiades  he  painted  a  second  and  then  a  third :  the  second 
was  for  John  Finch,  IVIinister  in  Florence  of  H.M.  the  King  of  England,  to  whom  the  said 
Minister  presented  it.  For  the  same  Finch,  Dolci  also  painted,  as  pendants  the  David  with 
Goliath's  Head,  and  a  Saint  Mary  Magdalene  which  were  presented  to  the  Queen  In  addition 
he  painted  Sir  John  Finch's  portrait  and  that  of  his  most  confidential  attache  Doctor  Fava 
which  were  so  successful  that  they  may  be  said  without  exaggeration  to  be  his  master-pieces. 
When  seen  in  England  they  made  such  a  sensation  that  many  noblemen  and  gentlemen  of 
that  nation,  on  their  way  through  Florence  had  their  portraits  painted  by  him.  Of  these 
gentlemen  the  name  of  one  has  been  preserved  viz.  John  Broghim. 

For  the  two  portraits  painted  for  the  English  Minister,  Carlino  in  addition  to  the  hundred 
ducats  stipulated,  received  a  gift  of  twenty-five  Spanish  doubloons. 

Finch  had  only  one  "most  confidential  attache,"  and  "Fava"  must  be 
regarded  as  a  misreading  of  a  MS.  for  "Baines."  Tozzetti  in  his  book  on  the 
Accademia  del  Cimento  writes  of  "Tommaso  Forbes"  instead  of  "Tommaso 
Baines."  "Fava"  is  Italian  for  "bean,"  but  it  seems  very  unlikely  that  an 
attempt  was  made  to  translate  "Baines"  into  Italian!  The  name  "Broghim" 
seems  to  be  a  mistake,  but  it  is  doubtful  if  we  could  replace  it  by  "BroghiU" 
{i.e.  of  the  Boyle  family). 

The  Herodias  with  St  John's  Head  and  the  5.  Mary  Magdalene  are  amongst 
a  list  of  the  paintings  in  the  possession  of  King  James  II,  and  they  were  amongst 
the  pictures  lent  to  exhibitions  by  both  George  IV  and  William  IV.  They  are 
now  at  Windsor  Castle.  I  have  been  unable  to  trace  the  David  with  Goliath's 
Head,  and  Lionel  Cust,  Esquire,  C.V.O.,  Surveyor  of  the  King's  Pictures  and 
Works  of  Art,  knows  nothing  of  this  painting,  but  suggests  that  Queen 
Catharine  of  Braganza  may  have  retained  it  as  her  private  property. 

A  mezzotint  was  engraved  by  J.  Faber  from  the  painting  of  Herodias  in 
1728  and  there  is  one  also  at  the  British  Museum  of  an  almost  identical  painting 
by  Carlo  Dolci  in  Dresden.  Two  of  the  three  pictures  of  Herodias,  mentioned 
in  the  passage  quoted  above,  may  thus  be  traced. 

Mr  Cust 2  writes  of  the  portraits  of  Finch  and  Baines,  "they  are  excellent 

•  Notizie  de  Professori  del  disegno.. .Tom.  vi,  p.  503.     This  work  of  Baldinucci  was  published,  in  the  year 
1717,  after  hia  death.  2  j^g^_  ^ii_ 


y 


Plate  III 


From  portrait   by   Carlo   Dolci   at   Burlcy-on-thc-Hi 


vi]  LIFE    IN    FLORENCE  53 

in  every  way,  treated  with  a  breadth  and  sobriety  of  colour  which  one  would 
connect  with  the  Dutch  school  of  the  period  rather  than  with  the  Italian." 

In  the  portrait  of  Sir  John  he  is  holding  an  Italian  document  dated  from 
"Firenze"  and  addressed  to  the  Grand  Duke.  The  intention  of  representing 
Finch  as  the  English  Ambassador  is  evident. 

Carlo  Dolci,  we  must  conclude  for  other  reasons,  was  known  to  Finch, 
for  in  one  of  his  commonplace  books  Finch  has  written  some  notes  "On  colours" 
and  in  these  he  quotes  Carlo  Dolci's  opinions  several  times.  There  is  a  signed 
picture  by  Carlo  Dolci  at  Burley  representing  the  head  of  the  Infant  Christ; 
this  no  doubt  was  bought  by  Finch,  for  on  his  return  alone  from  Turkey 
he  procured  many  paintings  in  Italy  and  Florence  and  "four  of  Carlo  Dolci." 
Christ  breaking  Bread  by  Carlo  Dolci  hangs  in  Burleigh  House  "by  Stamford 
town,"  the  seat  of  the  Marquis  of  Exeter. 

In  the  other  portrait  Baines  is  seated  at  a  table  on  which  are  several  books. 
He  is  immediately  engaged  on  Plato  and  Aristotle  and  there  are  other  slips  of 
paper  in  books  marked  "Euclid"  and  "Hippocr..."  Baines  is  apparently 
extracting  passages  from  Plato  and  Aristotle.  One  of  his  note-books  preserved 
at  Burley  is  entirely  devoted  to  this  work.  His  method  of  note-taking  is  worth 
recording  and  might  well  be  followed  by  the  student  to-da}',  had  he  the  leisure 
time  of  Baines. 

Short  Collections 

Out  of  Plato  and  Aristotle:  of  Plato  there  is  his  booke  entitled  politicus;  his  ten  books 
de  Republica,  and  his  Thirteen  bookes  de  legibus,  the  last  of  which  Hee  calls  (■mvofii';;  out 
of  Aristotle  there  is  his  eight  bookes  de  Republica,  his  two  bookes  de  Cura  Rei  Familiaris, 
his  ten  bookes  de  Moribus,  his  two  bookes  entitled  Eudemia,  his  booke  de  virtutibus  et  vitiis 
and   his   Rhetoricke. 

In  taking  of  these  notes  I  have  obser\'ed  that  method  which  I  have  donne  heretofore  in 
others,  and  shall  allwayes  doe  hereafter. 

1.  In  reading  an  ancient  author  as  Plato  and  Aristotle,  I  take  notice  of  Knowne 
important  truths,  though  common,  chiefly  out  of  gratitude  that  I  may  in  private  thoughts, 
and  publicke  Discourse  pay  my  respects  to  the  first  origen  and  there  is  in  it  the  pompe  and 
glory  of  learning. 

2.  I  take  notice  of  truths  which  though  I  knew  either  in  part  or  in  whole  before,  yet 
they  are  more  plumply,  scientifically  and  handsomely  conveyed,  and  in  this  there  is  both 
profitt  and  pleasure. 

3.  I  take  notice  of  truths  which  I  never  knew  before  and  perhaps  in  these  I  am  allwayes 
larger  then  the  Author  where  the  case  points  for  my  owne  instruction,  and  carry  a  constant 
eie  {sic)  whether  in  his  following  bookes  hee  speakes  any  further  to  that  point.  .And  in  these 
there  is  abundance  of  profitt  and  abundance  of  pleasure,  for  in  a  fruitfull  braine  how  much 
does  once  {sic)  certaine  truth  branch. 

4.  Lastly  I  take  notice  of  egregious  errors:  partly  that  I  may  shew  them  others  to 
decline,  but  chiefly  that  in  farther  reading  of  Him  I  may  easelyer  (^iV)  perceive  the  lesser 
declinations  from  those  more  palpable,  by  which  I  decline  the  straining  of  my  braine  to  give 
a  candid  interpretation  of  that  which  was  meaned  amisse,  which  otherwise  in  charity  I  ought 
to  doe  to  every  famous  man:    kui  Taiira  fxei'  ravra:    atque  haec  de  his. 


54  LIFE    IN    FLORENCE  [ch. 

Finch  had  scarcely  begun  his  term  as  Resident  at  Florence  when  his  friends 

sought  out  positions  for  him  in  England.     As  early  as  June,   1665,  Conway^ 

writes  a  very  interesting  letter  to  him  and  states  that  he  and  Heneage  Finch 

were  angry  with  Lord  Arlington,  as  the  latter  had  failed  to  fulfil  his  promise 

towards  Sir  John. 

...he  promised  this  should  be  redeemed,  and  would  have  done  it  very  opportunely  upon  the 
death  of  Mr  O'Neale,  of  the  King's  bedchamber,  had  not  your  being  knighted  rendered  you 
incapable  thereof,  but  his  lordship  has  made  amends  by  the  employment  you  now  enjoy: 
his  lordship  is  a  power  of  the  greatest  honour  and  merit  that  ever  was,  and  you  will  find 
yourself  more  happy  under  his  protection  than  if  you  had  choice  of  the  Court,  for  his  power 
and  reediness  to  oblige  is  greater  than  any  man's... I  hope  ultimately  to  bring  you  in 
to  succeed  Sec.  Morice  in  his  office  which  will  be  more  eligible  than  removing  to  Con- 
stantinople.... 

Another  letter  in  1668  shows  that  it  was  intended  that  Finch  should  enter 

Parliament   upon   his   return^.     Viscount   Conway  wrote   to  his   brother-in-law 

Sir  John  Finch  in  February,  1668: 

...Lord  Arhngton  intends  to  have  you  chosen  a  Parliament  man  before  you  arrive; 
by  that  method  you  will  come  into  court  advantageously.  I  advise  your  return  by  France, 
because  you  will  be  first  employed  in  foreign  affairs.  You  will  have  the  advantage  of  coming 
into  a  court  where  there  is  not  one  man  of  ability. 

In  1667  Heneage  Finch  was  still  "an  unsuccessful  suitor"  for  Finch's  return. 

In  March,  1666-7^,  Finch  wrote  to  Lord  Conway  about  his  wishes  for  the 

future  and  about  his  dissatisfaction  with  his  Hfe  in  Italy  at  that  time.     These 

letters  are  partly  in  cypher,  but  fortunately  the  keys  were  found  amongst  the 

manuscripts  at  the  British  Museum  and  almost  all  the  words  can  be  deciphered 

by  their  aid. 

...But  my  Lord  as  I  am  eternally  obliged  to  your  Lordship's  kindnesse,  which  endeavours 
to  begett  me  an  Interest  in  Lord  Ashley  [?  Arlington]  yet  I  must  needs  say  I  find  so  little 
application  to  buisnesse  at  court  and  particularly  in  Lord  Ashley  [?]  that  I  know  not  how  to 
hope  an  esteeme  from  Lord  Ashley  unlesse  his  Lordship  could  find  something  to  employ  mee 
in,  that  might  ease  his  [?]  owne  trouble.  And  indeed  my  Lord  though  I  have  the  strongest 
desires  imaginable  to  retourne  home  being  desirous  if  possible  to  enjoy  your  Lordship's  and  my 
sisters  company,  I  having  little  satisfaction  to  spend  my  time  in  a  charge  whose  dignity 
cannot  be  supported  with  the  allowance  of  Sir  John  Finch.  Yet  my  Lord  to  use  the  freedome 
your  Lordship's  affection  permitts;  I  had  rather  at  my  retourne  retire  from  the  noyse  of 
the  world  and  enjoy  my  owne  thoughts  free  from  subjection,  then  have  office  at  court  void 
of  application  and  buisnesse.  Yet  I  had  rather  undertake  anything  then  to  be  banished 
any  longer  from  seeing  your  Lordship  and  my  sister.  Nay  though  to  be  sent  to  Constan- 
tinople were  a  charge  of  great  gaine  yet  I  would  not  buy  that  charge  with  the  affliction  so 
long  a  separation  would  create  mee.  But  anything  is  better  then  my  present  condition  in 
which  I  neither  enjoy  myselfe  nor  anything  else. 

In  a  later  cypher  letter  Finch  writes: 

I  doe  perfectly  abhorr  the  thoughts  of  goeing  to  Constantinople  in  so  much  that  upon 
the  unfortunate  marriage  of  My  Lord  Maydston  [Winchilsea's  son]  and  the  Disappointment 

'  Calendar  of  Stale  Papers — Domestic,  Addenda,  1660-1670,  p.  701.     June?   1665. 
-  Ibid.  1667-1668,  p.  258.  ^  Addil.  MSS.  23215. 


vi]  LIFE    IN   FLORENCE  55 

that  my  Lord  of  Winchilsea  must  have  of  providing  for  his  younger  children  I  persuaded 
him  to  stay  at  least  seven  years  longer. 

In  the  same  letter  Finch  gives  an  account  of  another  incident  in  his  political 
life  in  Italy,  which  is  found  in  the  Rawlinson  MSS.  (see  note  on  page  45). 

In  my  last  I  gave  your  Lordship  an  Account  with  how  much  difficulty  I  struggl'd  with 
the  Pope  here,  who  would  by  his  Nuncio  have  suppress'd  the  Protestant  Preaching,  and  was 
so  exorbitant  as  to  pretend  to  silence  my  chaplayn  in  my  own  house,  which  ridiculous 
extravagancy  though  I  soon  quashed,  yet  I  find  that  the  factor)-  in  my  absence  will  hardly 
be  allowed  that  freedome :  I  therefore  acquainted  my  Lord  Arhngton  with  it;  and  told  his 
Lordship  that  I  knew  no  expedient  but  my  residing  as  many  Moneths  at  Livorno  as  I  had 
wont  to  do  at  Florence.  And  I  told  his  Lordship  that  I  held  it  not  reasonable  that  His 
Majesty  onely  for  the  sake  of  the  factory  should  be  at  the  Expense,  which  would  be  great 
in  my  taking  another  house  here  which  would  be  at  least  ;([i20  per  Annum,  another  in  the 
country  which  every  Merchant  to  avoid  this  bad  Ayr  has;  and  the  necessity  of  multiply'd 
Entertainments  where  so  vast  a  number  of  English  were  whom  I  must  not  be  oblig'd  by:  if 
I  mean  to  govern.  My  Lord  if  his  Lordship  pitches  upon  this  expedient  of  my  residing  at 
Livorno  though  in  matter  of  KeWgion... [three  letters  illegible  through  a  hole  in  the  paper] 
Lord  Ashley  [.'  Arlington]  is  not  so  much  concerned  as  Viscount  Conway^  who  writes  very 
warmely  about  it.  I  beseech  your  Lordship  to  insinuate  to  Lord  Ashley  [?],  that  I  cannot 
under  double  the  Expense  stay  as  long  in  Livorno,  as  hitherto  I  have  done  at  Florence. 
But  I  fearing  the  Warr  is  likely  to  last  longer  then  Viscount  Conway  wishes.  Lord  Ashley  [?] 
having  told  mee  that  the  Treaty  at  the  Hague  was  propounded  without  assurance  of  being 
accepted  and  I  fear  with  a  certainty  if  being  rejected  to  the  great  disreputation  of  Sir  John 
Finch^  abroad,  I  would  not  have  new  resolutions  to  prejudice  mee  either  as  to  my  stay  or 
to  my  allowance  if  I  am  putt  upon  new  occasions  of  expence. 

In  1670  the  Grand  Duke  of  Tuscany  died  and  a  letter  describes  Finch's 
visit  to  condole  with  the  Dowager  Duchess  forty  days  after  her  husband's  decease, 
and  to  congratulate  her  on  her  son's  succession  to  the  title^. 

^  In  an  ordinary  letter  these  words  would  read  "you"  and  "me,"  but  the  numbers  "13"  and  "10"  are 
cypher  for  "Viscount  Conw.iy"  and  "Sir  John  Finch." 

*  Calendar  of  State  Papers — Domestic,  1670,  p.  332.     July  14th. 


CHAPTER    VII 
ENGLAND   AGAIN 

In  August,  1670,  Sir  John's  letter  of  revocation  to  England  was  despatched 
by  Lord  Arlington,  who  hoped  "to  get  Sir  John  Finch  into  the  House^." 
Apparently  Finch  and  Baines  did  not  arrive  in  England  till  July,   1671^. 

Baines  was  again  in  poor  health  and  More  writes  to  Lady  Conway,  "C.C.C.," 
nth  May,    1672: 

...Mrs  Foxcroft  writt  me  so  melancholy  a  letter  that  I  thought  Dr  Baines  was  about 
ready  to  give  up  the  ghost,  so  that  I  was  surprised  when  I  heard  he  was  come  to  Cambridge. 
Though  his  leggs  fayl  him  yett  his  tongue  walks  as  free  as  ever,  and  is  very  good  company 
on  that  account  and  really  I  phancy  his  mind  is  of  a  better  frame  then  heretofore  and  Sr  John 
really  is  the  best  company  in  the  world.  But  it  is  a  good  thing  to  be  pleased  with  any  of  these 
things,  because  the  enjoyment  of  them  is  not  in  our  power,  but  it  is  like  a  flash  of  evening 
lightning  as  they  are  all  dispersed  to  their  occasions  and  leave  me  alone.... 

There  is  no  reference  in  the  Calendar  of  State  Papers  to  the  effect  that 
Finch  entered  Parliament,  but  throughout  this  stay  in  England  he  acted  on 
the  Council  for  Plantations^.  "Warrant  for  renewal  of  the  Commission  of  the 
Council  for  Plantations,  inviting  Sir  William  Hickman  in  place  of  Sir  John 
Finch  appointed  ambassador  to  the  Ottoman  Empire,  on  the  death  of  Sir  Dan. 
Harvey."  In  the  volume  Cal.  of  State  Papers — Colonial,  1669- 1 674,  an  account 
is  given  of  the  formation  and  purposes  of  this  Commission,  and,  under  later 
dates,  an  account  of  their  work. 

Finch  and  Baines  resided  at  the  Inner  Temple  with  Heneage  Finch.  In 
the  autumn  of  1672  Finch  was  recommended  by  the  King  to  be  Ambassador  at 
the  Ottoman  Court  in  place  of  Sir  Daniel  Harvey  deceased,  who  had  succeeded 
Winchilsea  at  Constantinople. 

It  seemed  very  possible  at  this  time  that  "the  Doctors"  would  now  be 
separated  for  a  long  period,  if  not  for  the  remainder  of  their  days,  and  that 
whilst  Finch,  on  his  way  to  Turkey,  would  settle  some  dispute  at  Leghorn*,  Baines 
would  be  starting  for  the  New  World,  for  an  interesting  note  from  Sir  John 
Finch  to  Williamson  tells  us,  "Lord  Arlington  desires  you  to  remind  him  to 
constitute  Dr  Thomas  Baines  of  the  Commissioners  the  King  is  resolved  to  send 

'  Ccdeiidar  of  State  Papers — Domewic,  1670,  p.  389.     Aug.  23rd,   1670.  -Ibid.  1671,  July  i8th. 

'  Ibid.  1672-1673,  p.  114.     Nov.  2nd,   1672.  *  Ibid.   1673,  p.   107,  March  (?). 


en.  vii]  ENGLAND   AGAIN 


57 


to  New  England^"  Possibly  Baines  was  to  be  one  of  the  Commissioners  whom 
the  King  was  to  appoint. 

Recommended  that  the  King  send  Commissioners  to  New  England  to  examine  the 
differences  concerning  the  boundaries  of  the  Massachusetts  and  the  rest  of  the  colonies,  that 
the  Commissioners  be  despatched  to  arrive  before  the  end  of  next  October,  as  ships  cannot 
without  danger  come  into  harbour  there  after  that  time^. 

Ferdinand  Gorges,  Esq.,  had  previously  petitioned  the  King,  claiming  the 
province  of  Maine  inherited  from  his  father,  but  which  the  Governor  of  Massa- 
chusetts had  laid  hold  of  whilst  he  (Gorges)  "was  away  in  King's  father's  service 
in  the  late  wars."  However  this  proposed  appointment  was  not  confirmed, 
and  Sir  John  and  Sir  Thomas  did  not  part  company  but  set  out  on  their  travels 
together  once  more. 

Baines  was  knighted  on  24th  May,  1672,  at  WhitehalP  before  he  went  to 
Constantinople,  and  not  on  his  setting  out  for  Florence,  as  is  generally  stated. 

It  was  at  first  intended  that  Finch  and  Baines  should  leave  England  soon 
after  the  former's  appointment  and  he  tells  of  it  in  a  letter  to  Conwav  written 
about   loth  November,   1672. 

The  last  weeke  I  acquainted  your  Lordship  that  His  Majesty  having  made  me  His 
Ambassador  to  the  Gran  Signor  I  had  kissed  his  hand  upon  it,  on  Thursday  the  9th  Instant 
I  delivered  the  King's  letter  to  the  Turky  Company  and  they  immediately  and  cheerfully 
acknowledged  me  under  that  Character.  So  that  now  within  twelve  dayes  I  suppose  I  shall 
beginn  my  Voyage.  The  Duke  has  bin  pleased  to  promise  me  a  ship  to  Constantinople,  and 
a  strong  Convoy  to  the  Merchants :  of  which  there  is  need,  advice  being  come  that  the  "Dutch 
are  putt  to  sea  with  22  Men  of  War,  50  to  70  Guns,  and  double  Mann'd  and  10  fire  ships." 
Sir  Thomas  Osburn  is  a  gentleman  I  have  so  true  an  Honour  for:  that  I  will  Endeavour  his 
Service  to  the  utmost  of  my  Capacity,  and  I  will  assure  you  Sr  Thomas  Baines  and  I  have  so 
discoursed  this  matter  with  Mr  Attorney  [Heneage  Finch]  that  He  who  has  a  reverence  for 
Sir  Thomas  Osborne  more  then  for  any  Gentleman  in  England,  has  promised  us  to  own  that 
concern  and  Push  it  on  to  the  uttermost  and  I  intend  before  I  goe,  to  gett  them  to  Discourse 
the  matter  and  I  hope  all  our  wishes  may  succeed ;  But  of  all  things  I  will  be  least  responsible 
for  marriages. 

Sir  Thomas  Osburn  was  at  this  time  Lord  Treasurer,  and  it  seems  probable 
that  the  "marriage"  in  question  was  that  of  Daniel,  Finch's  nephew,  for  he 
married  Lady  Essex  Rich  on  i6th  June,  1674.  However  Finch  and  Baines 
were  delayed  in  their  departure  until  the  beginning  of  the  summer.  Baines 
wrote  a  long  and  interesting  letter  to  Anne  Conwa}-  from  the  Inner  Temple, 
19th  December,  1672'*,  thanking  her  for  the  hospitality  at  Raglcy  where  he  and 
Finch  had  spent  "seven  moneths."  After  stating  that  he  had  been  in  bed  for 
three  weeks  with  the  gout,  he  describes  the  intended  missions  to  Leghorn  and 
to  Geneva  ("with  an  angry  message  from  his  Majesty"),  and  he  goes  on  to  speak 
of  the  appointment  to  Turkey  and  the  manner  of  life  they  hope  to  lead  there. 

'  Ctil.  of  Stale  Papers — Uomeslie,  1673,  p.  107.  '  Col.  of  Sitile  Papers — Colonial,   1671,  M«ch  5tli. 

»  Shaw's  Book  of  Knighis,  *  Brit.  Mus.  Addii.  MSS,  2J215,  f-  69. 

M.  8 


58  ENGLAND   AGAIN  [ch. 

Finch  guaranteed  to  stay  with  the  Turkey  Company  for  six  years  at  a  salary 
of  "ten  thousand  mighty  dollars,"  equivalent,  Baines  says,  to  £2800  a  year. 
In  a  later  letter  Baines  speaks  of  Finch's  liberality.  "This  is  the  salary  of  the 
man  that  usually  what  Hee  gets  with  his  right  hand,  Hee  scatters  with  his  left^." 
The  Turkey  Company  was  to  pay  his  Chaplain  j^ioo,  and  would  meet  the  expenses 
of  coaches  and  retinue,  should  Finch  have  to  make  journeys. 

Baines  describes  the  arrangements  Finch  was  making  for  their  sojourn  in 
Turkey : 

...His  family  I  adjudge  will  be  about  thirtye,  two  pages  and  twelve  footmen  in  livery, 
which  he  hath  made  very  rich.  One  livery  serving  Him  the  whole  six  years  because  they 
weare  them  only  when  they  goe  out,  and  when  they  come  back  they  putt  them  off.  As  for 
his  Wine  the  Turk  allows  Him  seven  thousand  measures  of  wine  custome  free  He  in  his  own 
house  can  spend  but  two  thousand  so  that  selling  the  other  it  will  pay  the  whole  cost  of  His 
wine.  Other  Provisions  as  I  am  informed  eccessive  cheap  save  only  butter  deer,  Partridges 
being  worth  about  a  penny  apiece  a  Pheasant  or  a  Capon  about  five  pence  or  six  pence: 
Mutton  veal  and  Beef,  five  farthings  or  three  half  pence  the  Bushell  and  fish  of  all  Sorts 
extraordinary  good  and  extraordinarye  Cheap,  a  Gentleman  assuring  me  that  a  fresh  Sturgeon 
of  an  Ell  long  he  did  see  it  sould  for  a  crown.  And  it  is  well  that  all  things  are  thus  for 
your  Brother  layes  out  here  in  England  in  order  to  His  Embassye  and  other  things  no  lesse 
then  two  thousand  five  Hundred  Pound,  His  cloaths  are  very  rich,  His  plate  amounts  to 
thirteen  hundred  Pound,  more  by  half  then  ever  any  Ambassador  carry'd,  which  He  doth 
that  at  an  Entertainment  He  might  not  blush,  knowing  very  well  that  when  He  is  invited  by 
the  Emperor,  French,  or  Venetian  Ambassador  they  will  be  all  serv'd  in  Plate,  and  He  is 
resolved  not  to  be  inferiour  to  any  of  them,  and  indeed  in  publick  things  where  the  Honour 
of  the  Nation  is  concern'd,  Parcimony  is  a  great  fault. 

Now  as  to  our  pleasure  during  our  stay  there,  we  have  contriv'd  it  thus. 
Our  conversation  shall  be,  with  the  craftyest  and  most  ingenuous  (sic)  Jesuit  we  can 
find,  with  the  sobriest  and  most  stayd  Patriarchiall  man  of  the  Greek  Church  to  whom 
if  your  Ladyship  please  to  add  the  arrantest  and  cunningest  Knave  amonge  the  Jewes  we 
can  light  upon,  say  our  conversation  is  made  Compleat;  a  house  we  shall  take  upon  the 
black  sea,  and  keep  a  barge  a  purpose  to  carry  us  thither  and  to  go  a  fishing  in  as  often  as  we 
shall  take  delight... and  because  Turkey  is  no  place  for  Coaches  we  supply  that  defect  with 
a  couple  of  very  handsome  Saddans  which  we  shall  carry  over  with  us.... Thus  we  continue 
to  sweeten  our  stay  there  as  many  ways  as  we  can  suggest,  not  leaving  behind  us  our  Library 
to  entertain  us  in  our  most  sober  thoughts. ...but  that  that  contributes  no  little  matter  to  the 
pleasure  and  content  of  this  Voyage  is  the  security  of  our  pay:  being  no  court  pay,  needs  no 
sollicitation  of  friends,  but  falls  out  as  certain  as  if  I  had  a  hundred  Pound  Rent  chardg'd  a 
year  out  of  the  Mannor  of  Ragley:  so  that  there  is  nothing  of  bitternesse  in  it  seeing  thai 
our  friends  Company.... 

In  another  letter^,  to  Lord  Conway,  Baines  writes  that  the  goods  and 
servants  are  already  shipped  upon  "one  of  his  Majesty's  frigates  the  Centurion 
a  ship  of  fifty-two  guns,  having  obtained  also  a  catch  to  waite  upon  Her,  which 
upon  occasion  turns  into  a  fire  shipp  a  great  security  and  convenience  against 
the  Hazards  of  the  sea,  and  those  of  an  enemy  which  ought  to  be  provided 
against."     One  Charles  Wylde  was  the  commander  of  this  ship  and  his  journal 

'  Brit.  Mu5.  Aidit.  MSS.  23215,  f.  71,  i6th  April,  1673.  -  Ibid.  f.  71,  April,  1673. 


vii]  ENGLAND   AGAIN  59 

of  the  voyage  to  Constantinople  is  in  the  British  Museum^.  It  gives  the  position 
of  the  ship  day  by  day,  records  escapes  from  privateers,  describes  the  hearty 
way  in  which  Finch  was  received  at  the  various  landings,  and  contains  several 
water-colour  studies  of  the  coast  lines  they  passed  and  water-colour  maps  of 
some  of  the  ports. 

Finch  had  not  found  his  sister  at  all  well  whilst  he  was  in  England,  and 
though  she  was  under  the  care  of  Van  Helmont,  for  whom  years  before  Finch 
had  not  a  good  word  to  say,  he  makes  no  complaint  on  this  occasion.  A  letter 
from  the  Inner  Temple  in  August,  1672,  to  Conway  reveals  his  deep  feeling  at 
the  thought  of  Anne's  poor  health: 

...I  met  this  morning  at  my  Lord  Arlington's  Van  Helmont  and  having  made  v\-ith  all 
imaginable  modesty  the  most  important  demands  I  could  thinke  of  relating  to  my  Dear 
sister's  health :  I  was  struck  with  such  a  dampe  upon  his  answers  that  I  had  scarce  courage 
enough  to  disguise  my  sorrow,  to  negotiaite  with  my  Lord  Arlington,  who  I  fear  discovered 
in  me  a  perturbation  his  Lordship  could  not  guesse  at  the  cause  of.  But  since  I  am  free  from 
those  Eyes  that  gave  me  Subjection,  I  hope  my  own  have  given  part  of  that  constant  Tribute 
they  must  ever  pay  to  my  Dear  Sister's  affliction  or  the  memory  of  it  or  her.  I  am  I  protest 
more  reduc'd  to  an  indiflerency  of  life  finding  the  greatest  comfort  I  ever  promised  myselfe 
in  it  (the  happinesse  of  her  Conversation)  snatch'd  from  me,  if  I  protest  this  World  has  little 
left  either  of  hopes  or  fears  for  me.  I  dare  not  write  to  her  whom  Van  Helmont  himselfe 
represents  incapable  of  reading  what  I  write.  My  Lord  I  will  send  my  Soul  to  her  but  not  words, 
that  weake  interpretation  of  it,  for  I  very  well  knowe  that  no  words  can  convey  my  sense, 
and  if  they  did,  they  will  only  embitter  our  mutuall  sufferings.... 

When  Finch  set  out  for  Turkey,  he  must  have  reahzed  that  there  was  small 
chance  of  his  seeing  his  sister  alive  again. 

Finch  writes  from  the  Inner  Temple,  14th  May,  1673,  to  Lord  Conway^ 
that  he  was  to  "take  yacht  at  Dover  Tuesday  the  24th,"  and  writes  again  on 
the  14th  to  say  farewell,  should  he  never  return. 

I  am  now  leaving  England... This  is  the  third  time  I  have  left  my  Native  Soyl:  If  God 
Almighty  make  me  so  happy  as  to  return  once  more  to  your  Lordship,  I  shall  then  thinke  it 
is  time  to  fix  at  home  and  leave  of  (sic)  all  thoughts  of  further  wandering.  But  [if]  my  life  by 
its  period  abroad  putts  one  to  my  Travell  I  beseech  your  Lordship  to  believe  that  you  have 
lost  the  most  faythfull  and  zealous  servant  the  World  yet  was  ever  possessed  of.... 

He  travelled  into  Italy  across  France  and  visited  Montreuil,  Paris,  Turin,  Genoa, 

Florence,  and  met  the  ship  Centurion  at  Leghorn. 

Whilst  in  Paris  he  investigated  a  new  method  of  stopping  bleeding  and 

described  it  in  a  letter  to  his  nephew  DanieF: 

'Tis  now  six  weeks  since  in  Paris  they  have  found  out  a  secret  of  stopping  any  bleeding 
(nay  though  an  artery  be  cutt  in  sunder)  by  laying  upon  it  a  linen  cloth  dipped  in  a  certain 
water.  The  King  of  France  gave  the  inventor  2,000  crowns ;  and  now  the  King  and  all  the  great 
officers  in  the  army  are  never  without  a  viall  of  this  water.  There  are  five  persons  at  present 
who  have  become  masters  of  the  secret :   the  experiment  I  would  need  see  made  before  me  in 

'  Brit.  .Mus.  Shane  MSS.  2439.  '  Brit.  Mus.  AJJil.  MSS.  23215,  f.  73. 

3  Fincb  Report  (Hist.  MSS.  Comm.),  vol.  11,  p.   11.     i7-27th  June,  1673. 

8—2 


6o  ENGLAND   AGAIN  [ch.  vii 

my  lodgings,  and  a  doctor  and  two  chirurgeons  came  with  a  dog,  but  Carpenter  [F.'s  secretary] 
not  cutting  the  crural  artery,  the  blood  was  soon  stopped  by  the  water.  But  Sir  Thomas, 
another  dog  being  sent  for,  cutt  the  artery  himselfe  and  the  dog  dyed  by  the  effusion  of 
bloud,  but  not  so  but  that  the  water  shewed  a  very  strange  effect ;  for  it  preserved  the  dog 
in  life  for  severall  hours,  and  of  all  things  I  have  yet  seen  to  stop  bloud  is  the  most  efficacious. 
The  water  is  insipid,  for  I  tasted  it  suspecting  it  to  be  caustick,  but  I  am  apt  to  believe  as 
Sir  Thomas  conjectured,  that  it  is  a  destination  of  opium  or  poppy  with  the  aqua  exsfermare 
ranarum.  'Tis  of  great  use  in  gunshotts  where  remedi's  of  stopping  bloud  cannot  be  readily 
had;   I  bought  as  many  glasses  of  it  as  cost  two  louis  d'or.... 

They  sailed  from  Leghorn  for  Malta  29th  November,  1673,  and  arrived 
there  on  the  14th  of  December,  as  Finch's  note-book  and  Captain  Wylde's  journal 
record.  Finch  made  some  remarks  to  the  King  on  religion,  and  made  notes  on 
the  "Religion"  (i.e.  Order  of  St  John),  revenues,  fortifications,  etc.  They 
landed  at  Smyrna  in  January,  1673-4,  ^^^  finally  reached  Adrianople  towards 
the  end  of  March. 


CHAPTER    VIII 

CONSTANTINOPLE 

Again  Baines  was  allowed  to  enjoy  "the  salary  and  other  emoluments" 
of  his  office  as  Professor  at  Gresham  College^  when  he  accompanied  Finch  to 
Turkey.  Some  years  before,  Winchilsca  had  desired  that  Baines  should  go  out 
to  him  as  his  physician  at  Constantinople.  But  on  this  occasion  neither  Finch 
nor  Baines  ever  states  what  position  Baines  was  to  occupy  in  Turkey  and  there 
is  nothing  to  indicate  that  it  was  in  any  way  an  official  one. 

In  the  Rawlinson  Collection^  at  the  Bodleian  Library  there  is  a  manuscript 
containing  instructions  to  Finch  on  his  appointment  to  Turkey  and  another 
such  in  the  British  Museum^. 

Mahomet  IV  was  then  Sultan  of  Turkey,  and  during  his  reign  he  ac- 
complished much  for  the  Ottoman  Empire ;  he  concluded  the  war  with  Venice, 
which  had  lasted  for  twenty-seven  years,  by  subjecting  the  island  of  Candia; 
the  town  of  Kamenitz,  the  key  of  Poland,  was  in  his  hands;  he  reduced  the 
Cossacks  to  obedience,  and  he  imposed  a  new  tribute  on  all  Poland. 

In  Knolles'  Turkish  History'^  is  given  an  account  of  Finch's  arrival  in 
Turkey : 

About  the  i8th  of  March  Sir  John  Finch  Arrived  at  Constantinople,  &  some  few  days 
after  in  the  absence  of  the  Grand  Seignior  &  Visier,  had  Audience  of  the  Chimacam,  to 
whom  he  said : 

"I  am  come  Ambassador  from  Charles  the  2nd  King  of  England,  Scotland,  France, 
and  Ireland,  sole  Lord  and  Sovereign  of  all  the  Seas,  Territories  and  Possessions  in  the 
East  &  West  Indies,  Defender  of  the  Christian  Faith  against  all  that  worship  Idols  or 
Images :  To  the  most  powerful  &  Mighty  Emperor  of  the  East,  to  maintain  that  Peace, 
which  hath  been  so  useful,  and  that  Commerce  which  hath  been  so  profitable  to  this 
Empire:  For  the  continuance  whereof  I  promis  you  in  my  Station,  to  contribute  what 
I  can,  and  I  promis  myself  that  you  will  do  the  Like  in  yours." 

Finch's  interest  in  the  work  of  the  Royal  Society  has  already  been  noticed, 
and  amongst  the  papers  that  were  at  Burley,  is  one  communication  from 
Oldcnburgh,  the  Secretary  of  the  Society  at  that  time,  to  Sir  John  Finch*: 

'  Caletidar  of  Stale  Papers — Domestic,  1673,  p.  238.     12th  May. 

-  Rami.  MSS.  A.  256,  p.  51,  and  letters  of  revocation,  Nov.  1680,  pp.  253  and  261. 
»  Addit.  MSS.  2893,  p.  167. 

«  Ed.  1701,  vol.  II,  p.  206.     Paul  Rycaut,  who  h.id  been  the  Earl  of  WinchiUea's  jecretary  at  Constantinople, 
made  considerable  additions  to  this  history. 

'  Finch  Rfport  (Hist.  MSS.  Conim.),  vol.  11,  p.  6. 


62  CONSTANTINOPLE  [en. 

1.  To  take  notice  of  the  directions  and  enquiries  relating  both  to  land  and  sea,  published 
in  the  Phil.  Trans.  Nos.  xi  and  xxiv,  of  each  of  which  a  copy  accompanies  these. 

2.  To  excite  the  English  Consuls,  Vice  Consuls  and  factors  in  Turkey  the  Levant  and 
Egypt,  to  impart  all  the  observable  of  nature  and  art,  that  have  occurred  or  shall  occur  to 
their  observation. 

Then  follow  various  questions  about  the  Red  Sea  and  where  the  Israelites 
might  have  passed  over,  about  the  quicksands  and  how  far  from  their  point 
of  passage  is  the  place  where  are  bitter  waters.  About  Rusma  [a  powder  to 
remove  hairs],  where  in  Turkey  and  in  what  quantities  it  is  found ;  about  opium 
and  whether  the  Turks  take  it  "for  strength  and  courage"  and  also  give  it  to 
their  horses  and  dromedaries  when  they  are  faint  with  travelling  and  what  is 
the  greatest  dose  any  man  or  woman  is  known  to  have  taken ;  about  mummies ; 
about  the  frequency  of  earthquakes  in  Zant  and  Zephalonia ;  how  to  procure 
a  good  description  of  the  hills  of  Turkey;  about  people  living  to  the  age  of  120 
in  Arabia ;  whether  the  fruits,  herbs,  etc.  of  Cyprus  are  naturally  saltish ; 
what  is  the  art  of  tempering  steel  in  Damascus ;  about  the  Aqueducts  of 
Solyman  and  about  the  breeding  of  Angora  goats.  How  far  Finch  was  able 
to  answer  any  of  these  questions  we  do  not  know,  but  certainly  he  published 
no  papers  in  the  Phil.  Trans,  of  the  Roy.  Soc.  The  enquiries,  however,  serve  to 
show  what  "stretched  the  pia  mater"  of  that  group  of  men  who  composed  the 
Royal  Society  so  soon  after  its  foundation. 

There  are  practically  no  letters  amongst  the  Burley  papers  relating  to  the 
early  years  of  the  friends'  stay  in  Turkey,  but  from  the  length  of  the  epistles 
to  the  Conways^  they  must  have  spent  many  hours  in  the  study  of  the  country 
and  of  its  religion.  There  is  a  very  lengthy  communication  to  "My  most  D.D.," 
as  Finch  called  his  sister,  on  the  customs  and  rehgion,  and  the  latter  subject  is 
discussed  in  a  letter  to  Lord  Conway,  4-i4th  February,  1674-5,  under  the 
headings  (i)  One  God,  (2)  No  Wine,  (3)  Liberty  of  Conscience,  (4)  Four  Wives, 
and  Finch  adds  that  "by  these  four  principles  Mahommedanism  has  overspread 
so  great  a  part  of  the  world." 

Before  1677  perhaps  Finch's  most  important  pohtical  work  in  Turkey  was 
accomplished.  Fortunately  the  much-travelled  Covel  (1638-1722)  (afterwards 
Master  of  Christ's)  was  in  Turkey.  He  had  been  there  as  Chaplain  to  Sir  Daniel 
Harvey  and  remained  on  with  Finch  and  Baines  until  1679,  as  Chaplain  to  the 
Levant  Company,  and  he  describes^  the  trip,  which  he,  and  "the  Ambassador 
and  Chevaher"  (i.e.  Finch  and  Baines),  made  to  Adrianople  in  the  interest  of 
the  Capitulations  of  1676  which  Finch  secured  for  the  Company.  These  capitu- 
lations did  much  for  the  security  of  trading  and  property  in  the  Levant.    One 

'  Loc.  cii. 

"  Early  Voyages  and  Travels  in  the  Levant,  ii.    Extracts  from  the  diaries  of  Dr  John  Covel,  1670-1679,  printed 
for  the  Hakluyt  Society,  pp.  190  and  191. 


viii]  CONSTANTINOPLE  63 

clause  granted  liberty  to  export  from  Smyrna  and  elsewhere  two  ships'  lading 
of  fruit  annually  for  the  King's  own  use  in  his  kitchen^. 

They  travelled  in  true  Oriental  magnificence.  Covel  says  "My  Lord's 
[Finch's]  horses  furniture  were  set  out  with  jewels  and  pearls  most  gloriously," 
but  the  contrast  of  this  with  conditions  at  Adrianople  could  hardly  be  more 
striking  and  Covel  does  not  mince  words  in  describing  them:  "The  house  we 
first  were  all  allotted  was  the  damn'dest  confounded  place  that  ever  mortal 
man  was  put  into :  it  was  a  Jewes  house,  not  half  big  enough  to  hold  my  Lord's 
family,  a  mere  nest  of  fleas  and  cimici  [i.e.  bugs]  and  rats  and  mice  and  stench 
surrounded  with  whole  kennells  of  nasty,  beastly  Jewes."  The  plague  was 
rife  at  this  time,  and  Finch  and  his  party  had  to  betake  themselves  to  tents^, 
and  several  persons  died. 

Covel  was  a  great  friend  of  both  Finch  and  Baines,  and  in  1676-7*  Finch 
gave  him  a  bill  of  exchange  for  one  hundred  dollars  drawn  upon  Livorno  as  a 
present  with  which  he  was  to  buy  books.  Covel  returned  to  England  in  1679 
and  Baines  writes  a  verv  affectionate  letter  to  him*: 

...I  was  never  good  at  shooting  flying,  and  from  that  youth  to  this  day  was  never  good 
at  a  movable  mutable  subject:  but  I  allways  look'd  about  me  to  see  where  I  could  fix  my 
point,  which  found  out,  I  moved  upon  that  and  then  rung  as  many  Changes  as  I  could.  In 
like  manner  my  delight  is  to  see  the  subject  fix'd  to  A\home  I  talk  or  write,  as  well  as  that  upon 
which  I  speake. 

Then  Sir  you  being  arrived  in  your  native  Country,  Give  me  leave  to  give  you  the  Welcome, 
or  Buon  Pro  of  the  enjoyments  you  have  had  in  the  Lap  of  our  Common  old  Mother  Cambridge, 
where  you  are  dally'd  and  Caressed  by  her... God  have  him  [More]  &  you  &  all  of  us  in  His 
Holy  Protection  and  Preserve  us  that  wee  may  once  meet  at  a  Philosophical  Banquett, 
I  rest.  Dear  Sir,  etc. 

The  correspondence  of  Finch  with  Anne  Conway  was  most  remarkable; 
and  Lamb's  affection  for  his  sister  was  not  a  deeper  one.  There  is  scarcely 
a  break  in  the  chain  of  letters  from  Finch  to  Anne  Viscountess  Conway  except 
when  she  was  so  ill  that  Sir  John  wrote  only  to  her  husband  wdth  the  hope  that 
he  would  give  her  the  news.  Her  letters  to  him  are  few  and  far  between  amongst 
the  Conway  papers  at  the  British  Museum,  but  nowhere  could  one  find  more 
protestations  of  affection  than  in  Finch's  epistles  and  apparently  he  kept  no 
secret  from  her.     Donne's  line 

Sir,  more  than  kisses,  letters  mingle  soules; 

seems  so  true  in  the  case  of  John  and  Anne. 

In  November,  1678,  a  letter  from  More  brought  the  news  that  Anne  had 
become  a  Quaker.  This  event  receives  much  attention  in  Ward's  Life  0/  Henry 
More,  and  the  author  tries  to  seek  an  explanation  of  this  conversion  to  another 

'  Vide  Calendar  of  Siait  Papers— Domestic,  1676,  Stpt.  1,  p.  308. 

^  North's  Life  of  Dudley  ^'orlb,  "  Epistle  from  Adrianople." 

^  Brit.  Mus.  AJJii.  MSS.  22910,  f.   122.  ♦  IbiJ.  I.  192. 


64  CONSTANTINOPLE  [cii. 

faith  than  that  of  More,  who  it  will  be  remembered  was  so  great  a  friend  of  his 
"Heroine  Pupil"'  and  is  said  to  have  dedicated  one  of  his  treatises  to  her,  but 
in  the  bibHography  I  can  only  find  that  he  dedicated  one  to  Lord  Conway.  He 
spent  so  much  of  his  time  at  Ragley.  She  was  now  in  bed  in  the  last  year  of 
her  years-long  illness  and  Finch  does  not  upbraid  her,  but  he  could  not  refrain 
from  a  discussion  on  the  singular  pronoun  as  a  form  of  address^. 

But  since  you  seem  to  effect  the  Words  Thou  and  Thee:  I  can  easily  reassume  that 
Dialect,  But  at  the  same  time  I  must  tell  Thee  my  Dear,  That  all  words  being  themselves 
equally  Innocent  they  being  guilty  of  no  Crime  but  when  they  are  made  Conveyors  of  what  is 
in  Truth  contrary  to  the  message  they  carry:  To  confine  ourselves  to  any  sort  of  Words 
is  the  restraining  of  Human  Nature  to  What  it  is  not  oblig'd.  Thou  and  Thee  being  as  capable 
of  conveying  untruths  as  Right  Honourable  or  My  Lady,  or  Madam.  Most  certain  it  is  that 
God  having  made  man  the  superior  part  of  Creation,  by  giving  Him  a  Power  of  Discoursing 
by  Language,  Which  rendered  man  alone  capable  of  Divine  precepts,  all  which  are  convey'd 
by  Words.... 

This  philosophy  of  words  is  then  continued  over  a  large  page  and  Finch 
cannot  understand  that  "the  Friends"  laid  such  a  stress  on  the  form  of  address. 

...I  must  really  professe  unto  Thee  that  I  cannot  but  wonder  and  that  very  much,  how 
it  comes  to  passe  that  that  sort  of  People  which  in  England  are  commonly  call'd  Quakers, 
and  originally  thought  to  have  many  well  meaning,  though  mistaken  Persons  amongst  them, 
should,  owning  it  as  a  Principle  that  they  are  against  all  Forms,  bring  themselves  to  a  Form.... 

Finch  closes  his  letter  with  a  benediction.  In  the  British  Museum"^  there  are 
several  letters  to  Anne  Conway  from  a  group  of  Quakers,  William  Penn,  Charles 
Lloyd,  Thos.  Bromley,  Joseph  Cooper,  George  Keith,  Giles  Skene. 

Tozzetti  quotes  from  a  draft  of  a  letter  written  by  Prince  Leopold  of  Tuscany 
to  Sir  John  Finch.  They  wrote  extremely  compHmentary  letters  in  those  days, 
but  the  feelings  expressed  in  the  letter  are  apparently  quite  genuine  and  Finch 
was  greatly  missed  by  the  scientific  spirits  of  Tuscany.  Tozzetti^  gives  the  date 
as  1668,  but  in  that  year  Finch  was  at  Florence  as  Ambassador  and  there  is  no 
reason  to  believe  that  he  left  that  city.  Why  should  the  Prince  write  as 
if  Finch  were  at  a  great  distance  and  out  of  touch  with  the  scientific  circle  ? 
The  Grand  Duke  Ferdinand  II  was  evidently  still  alive  and  it  is  still  more 
difficult  to  date  the  letter. 

Al  Sig.  Cav.  Gio.  Finchio,  21  Marzo  1668  ab  Incarnatione.  II  gusto  con  che  ricevo  la 
Lettera  di  V.S.  del  21  del  corrente,  e  proporzionato  alia  stima  che  fo  del  suo  merito,  e 
1'  espressioni  ch'  Ella  mi  fa  del  suo  affetto,  sono  accolte  volentieri  dai  sentimenti  non  dissimili, 
che  verso  di  Lei  conservo  nell'  animo.  Al  Serenissimo  Granduca  ho  rappresentato  quanto 
V.S.  mi  scrive,  in  attestazione  della  memoria  amorevolissima  che  Ella  ne  conserva,  e 
credarai  che  S.A.  ne  ha  grandemente  goduto,  tenendo  anche  da  lontano  nel  dovuto  pregio 
la  singolare  virtu  di  V.S.  e  mi  ha  imposto  di  farlene  indubitata  fade.  Con  non  differenti 
dettami,  applaudono  al  suo  valore  il  Serenissimo  Principe  (Cosimo  III)  ed  il  Sig.  Principe 
Mattias,  a'  quali  non  ho  parimente  lasciato  di  partccipare  1'  istessa  Lettera  di  V.S.,  e  rendasi 

'  Brit.  Mus.  Addit.  MSS.  23215,  I  94.  -  Ibid.  23217- 

^  Atti  e  Memorie  dcW  Accademia  del  Cimento...V'uenze,  MDCCLXXX,  Tom.  i,  p.  274. 


viii]  CONSTANTINOPLE  65 

pure  certa,  che  appresso  a  tutti  di  questa  Casa.  Ell'  e  in  cosi  degno  concetto,  che  non  i  mai 
per  cancelJarlo  intervallo  di  tempo,  o  di  luogo.  lo  poi  mi  contento  d'  esser  compreso  tra  gli 
altri,  per  non  mostrar  pretensione  di  distinguermi ;  ma  Ella  pud  ben'  assicurarsi,  che  nell' 
amarla  e  stimarla  non  cedo  a  nessuno.  Non  mi  giugne  nuovo  che  V.S.  sia  costa  applicata 
in  operazioni  virtuose,  perch^  io  so  che  queste  sono  inseparabili  dal  suo  gran  talento;  e  mi 
giova  sperare,  ch'  Ella  non  lascera  di  parteciparle  a  chi  ne  vive  con  desiderio.  Veramente 
in  quest'  anno  si  e  lavorato  molto  nell'  Anatomia,  ed  il  Terenzii,  ed  11  Fracassati,  che  vi  hanno 
discorso  sopra,  hanno  fatto  bene  la  lor  parte,  ma  non  ci  erano  il  Sig.  Cav.  Finchio,  ed  il  Sig. 
Dott.  Tommaso,  che  vuol  dire  assai.  Ringrazio  in  fine  V.S.  deUi  attributi  i  che  si  compiace 
darmi,  troppo  superiori  al  vero;  ma  Ell'  ha  voluto  mostrare  la  sua  facondia,  non  meno  che 
la  sua  cortesia.  E  mentre  io  Le  ratifico  sempre  disposta  la  mia  volonta  per  ogni  sua  occorrenza, 
resto  augurandole  intera  prosperita. 

In  the  year  1679  Anne  Viscountess  Conway  died.  Lord  Conway  was 
absent  in  Ireland,  but  "Baron  Francis  Mercury  Van  Helmont  preserved  her 
in  her  coffin  above  ground,  in  spirits  of  wine,  having  a  glass  over  her  face  in 
order  that  her  husband  might  see  her  before  her  interment^."  In  187 1  her 
coffin  was  in  "Ragley  Old  Vault,"  Arrow  Church,  Warwickshire.  Finch^  writes 
to  Conway  consoHng  him,  and  adds: 

I  am  for  her  sake  to  beg  you  to  marry  again  for  since  it  pleased  God  to  take  your  only 
son  a  child  to  Heaven,  to  your  own  great  name  and  family,  to  your  person  and  virtues  you 
owe  a  successor,  which  since  my  dear  sister  was  now  incapable  of  giving  you,  it  may  be  God 
was  pleased  by  caUing  her  to  your  only  offspring  to  make  way  for  a  more  durable  issue  and  to 
free  her  from  a  perpetual  headache  and  as  great  a  heartache  in  the  prospect  of  seeing  you 
childless. ...'Tis  a  debt  due  to  her  memory,  who  wished  you  a  happy  father,  to  the  ashes  of 
all  your  noble  ancestors,  and  what  you  can  never  answer  to  God  or  man,  if  you  endeavour 
not  the  satisfying  of  it  by  a  speedy  second  marriage. 

She  had  suffered  from  severe  headache,  night  and  day,  which  never  left 
her,  till  her  death.  On  one  occasion  she  went  to  France  in  order  that  her  cranium 
might  be  opened,  but  the  French  surgeons  declined  to  undertake  the  operation, 
though  they  ventured  to  make  incisions  in  the  jugular  arteries*.  In  the  large 
collection  of  letters  of  Finch  to  his  sister  Anne*  as  far  back  as  1652  he  constantly 
writes  of  her  ill-health  and  gives  her  advice  as  to  the  care  she  should  take  of 
herself. 

Baines  writes^  at  the  same  time  seconding  Finch  as  to  the  marriage  and 
gives  advice  which  reveals  at  once  his  ideas  on  Eugenics : 

...but  as  to  this  point  I  will  revive  in  myself  the  dead  name  of  a  physician  and  speak  to  you 
as  such,  that  none  of  us  may  miss  our  great  intention  that  you  might  have  an  offspring. 
I  wish  you  then  a  lady  by  no  means  tall,  rather  low,  by  no  means  very  sanguine,  especially 
red  in  her  face,  but  rather  incHned  to  pale,  not  of  a  fixed  masculine  consistency  but  of  a 
feminine  lax  temper,  by  no  means  fat  or  indeed  lean,  but  in  the  mediocrity,  healthful  as  to 
herself  and  born  of  healthful  and  fruitful  parents. 

'  Miscellanea  Gmealogica  el  Heraldica,  1890,  2nd  scries,  vol.  in,  p.  3. 

■  Calendar  0/  Slate  Papers— Domestic,   1679-1680.     1679,  Dec.   18-28.     Pcra  of  Constantinople. 
3  D.N.B.  quoted  from  Ward,  Life  of  Henry  More,  p.  206.  «  Brit.  Mus.  Addit.  MSS.  23215. 

'  Calendar  of  Slate  Papers— Domestic,   1679-1680.     1679,  Dec.   18-28  (?)• 

9 


M. 


66  CONSTANTINOPLE  [ch. 

This  is  splendid  advice  in  the  giving,  but  surely  rather  difficult  in  the  taking ! 
The  last  clause  sums  up  modern  views  to  a  large  extent  and  certainly  is  the 
"common  sense"  view. 

Baines  seldom  speaks  of  himself  as  a  physician  and  only  once  have  I  seen 
him  mentioned  as  prescribing  medicine^.  However,  he  had  a  pretty  shrewd 
idea  of  the  value  of  the  "Imponderabilia"  in  the  treatment  of  disease.  Writing 
to  Lord  Chancellor  Finch  about  somebody  taking  mineral  waters,  he  adds, 
"...Again,  my  Lord,  I  speak  not  out  of  opinion  but  knowledge,  that  the  meer 
opinion  or  conceit  that  a  patient  hath  of  his  physitian  that  he  is  under,  or  physik 
he  is  in,  does,  of  itselfe,  reall  cures...." 

His  views  on  "child-welfare,"  as  it  is  now  termed,  are  correct,  but  all  his 
reasons  for  supporting  them  could  not  at  the  present  day  be  justified.  In  the 
same  letter  he  says: 

My  Lady  Essex  nursing  her  owne  child,  to  me,  my  Lord,  is  a  very  gratefull  story,  showing 
good  nature,  great  love  to  her  husband,  lack  of  pride  or  coyness,  tender  compassion  and  no 
aversion  to  care  and  pains.  Sure  I  am  there  is  less  danger  by  it  then  in  the  frequent  bearing 
of  children,  and  by  it  she  restamps  her  own  good  qualities  upon  her  offspring. 

Daniel  Finch,  writing  to  his  uncle  Sir  John  in  1680^,  gives  his  opinion  of 
Baines'  knowledge  in  medical  matters  and  at  the  same  time  in  a  few  words 
writes  a  justification  of  post  mortem  examinations.  He  tells  how  his  last  child 
died  of  convulsions,  having  lived  two  months  only,  and  adds : 

...I  have  sent  you  the  observations  of  the  doctors  upon  the  dissecting  of  this  last  child 
that  died,  and  entreat  the  favour  of  Sir  Thomas  Baines  to  peruse  them,  and  if  from  them  he 
can  make  any  judgment  for  the  preservation  of  them  that  remain  [the  italics  are  my  own]  I  do 
presume  to  premise  myselfe  that  kindnesse  from  his  charity  as  well  as  friendship. 

In  the  present  Book-room  at  Burley  there  are  none  of  Sir  John's  volumes 
to  be  found,  but  an  interesting  foHo  Prayer  Book  which  he  gave  to  his  sister- 
in-law.  On  the  fly-leaf  is  written  "Given  unto  Elizabeth  Finch,  August  28th 
Anno  Domini  1650,  By,  Her  Deare  Brother  Mr  John  Finch."  This  book  passed 
to  EHzabeth's  son  Daniel  and  for  many  years  after  was  the  family  register  of 
the  births  and  deaths  of  Daniel's  very  numerous  children.  Francis  Barnard's 
book  of  "Decumbitures^"  testifies  to  the  ill-health  of  these  children.  From 
the  position  of  the  stars  at  moment  of  onset  of  illness  he  thought  himself  capable 
of  making  a  prognosis! 

1  Calendar  of  Slale  Papers— Domestic,  1671-1672,  p.  7.  "  1671,  Dec.  2,  Dublin.  Sir  G.  Rawdon  to  Viscount 
Conway... concerning  his  wife's  health  and  acknowledging  a  prescription  procured  from  Dr  Baines  by  his 
Lordship." 

2  Finch  Report  (Hist.  MSS.  Conun.),  p.  78.     May  loth,  1680. 

'  MS.  in  Library  of  Sir  Wm.  Osier,  Bt.  This  volume  is  wTongly  lettered  on  the  binding  "C.  Barnard." 
By  a  comparison  with  MSS.  of  both  F.  and  C.  Barnard  at  the  Brit.  Mus.  the  handwriting  is  plainly  that  of  Francis 
and  not  of  Charles. 


viii]  CONSTANTINOPLE  67 

Francis  Barnard  (1627-1698)  and  Charles  Barnard  (1650-1711)  were  both 
sons  of  Rev.  Samuel  Barnard  of  Croydon.  They  both  possessed  fine  libraries 
and,  as  seen  by  the  catalogues  of  the  sales,  they  had  many  books  on  Astrology. 
Francis  was  elected  assistant-physician  at  St  Bartholomew's  Hospital  in  1678, 
but  even  after  this  date,  as  seen  from  entries  in  Sir  Wm.  Osier's  MS.,  he  was 
still  applying  the  results  of  Astrology  to  his  medical  work.  He  is  represented 
by  "Horoscope"  in  Garth's  poem  Dispensary.  Charles,  as  shown  by  the 
Charterhouse  Records,  was  appointed  in  June,  1679,  "Surgeon  of  this  Hospital" 
in  the  place  of  W.  Nurse.  Heneage  Finch  had  recommended  him  to  Charterhouse. 
He  was  also  Serjeant  surgeon  to  Queen  Anne,  and  was  elected  surgeon  to  St 
Bartholomew's  in   1678. 

Amongst  the  note-books  found  at  Burley  and  sent  to  the  Public  Record 
Office  is  one,  which  has  not  previously  been  mentioned.  It  is  a  thick  quarto 
volume  and  is  in  the  writing  of  Baines  and  in  Latin.  It  is  chiefly  "On  Physick," 
but  commences  and  closes  with  one  of  those  very  flowery  and  eulogistic  letters 
that  Finch  and  Baines  were  so  fond  of  addressing  to  their  Patron  the  Prince 
(Princt'ps)  of  Tuscan)\  This  is  followed  by  a  treatise  on  the  "Different  Schools 
of  Medicine,"  then  begins  the  chief  concern  of  the  volume ;  a  Ust  of  metallic  and 
vegetable  remedies,  giving  properties  and  indications  as  to  their  use,  also  a  list 
of  diseases  and  under  the  name  of  each  its  treatment  is  discussed.  Everything 
is  arranged  in  alphabetical  order  and  is  followed  by  a  very  lengthy  index.  The 
book  therefore  might  well  serve  as  a  physician's  "vade  mecum."  In  the  first 
section  are  "Alchymia,"  "Annihilatus  Foetori,"  "Acetu,"  "Aqua"  (all  kinds), 
"Aurum,"  "Argentu"  and  "Antimonium." 

From  the  letters  and  one  of  the  note-books  which  were  at  Burley  we  may 
obtain  an  idea  of  the  life  of  Finch  and  Baines  in  Turkey  and  it  seems  to  have 
been  very  much  as  Baines  had  expected.  There  are  accounts  of  interviews 
with  the  "Grand  Signor"  and  various  audiences  with  ministers  and  of  discus- 
sions on  numerous  trade  and  political  topics,  but  these  last  arc  not  of  very  great 
interest.  One  remark  of  Finch's  about  the  "treacherous  Turk"  in  a  letter  to 
L.  Hyde,  April,  1677,  must  be  quoted:  "I  wish  the  Peace  of  Poland  may  prove 
as  honourable  as  is  believed  and  given  out  to  be.  But  I  learn  already  that  the 
Articles  in  Turkish  are  different  from  those  in  Pohsh,  and  given  forth  to  all 
courts^." 

Naturally  from  the  importance  of  the  station  of  Finch  and  Baines  in  Turkey 
there  were  a  great  many  visitors  to  the  Embassy  and  Finch  quite  often  describes 
the  arguments  which  were  carried  on  throughout,  or  after  dinner.  In  his  note- 
book Finch  sometimes  gives  the  Hst  of  those  present.  The  various  ministers 
from  other  countries  were  heartily  welcomed  by  Finch  and  Baines,  and  the 

•  Brit.  Mus.  AdJit.  MSS.  17017,  f.  56. 

9—2 


68  CONSTANTINOPLE  [ch. 

door  was  by  no  means  closed  to  the  Jesuits.  The  reports  of  the  conversations 
bring  out  the  fact  that  they  were  very  often  on  religious  subjects  and  that  some 
very  sane  remark  was  always  to  be  expected  from  Sir  Thomas.  Finch  is  always 
careful  to  record  Baines'  opinions  and  seems  to  take  great  pride  in  his  powers 
of  argument  and  in  what  "T.B.  replied."  Covel  tells  of  a  discussion  which 
Baines  had  on  the  Mahommedan  Faith  with  one  Vani  Effendi.  Baines  recog- 
nized his  own  powers  and  gave  his  opponents  time  to  consider  their  answers. 
"The  Rector  of  the  Jesuits  dined  with  me,  and  brought  with  him  another  Jesuit, 
a  learned  man  (both  were  French)  being  to  answer  an  objection  Sir  Tho.  Baines 
had  made,  and  had  given  him  three  days  for  his  reply  [the  discussion  chiefly 
turned  upon  the  definition  of  una  fides,  unus  baptismus  et  unus  domtnusY" 

They  both  held  very  strong  opinions  on  the  question  of  religious  beliefs 
and  Finch  makes  an  interesting  note  on  2ist-3ist  July,  1675,  at  Pera  of  Con- 
stantinople: "Mr  Brown  (the  clerk)  averred  to  Sir  Thomas  and  me  that 
Mr  ChiUingworth  did  in  his  sermon  on  the  Resurrection  speak  words  to  this 
purpose  'that  what  advantage  the  resurrection  of  Christ  brought  to  his  living 
weU  he  could  not  resolve.'"  This  idea  must  have  appeared  very  heretical  to 
dear  Sir  John  and  Sir  Thomas. 

In  a  discussion  with  the  French  Ambassador  it  was  agreed  that  it  was 
unwise  to  preach  the  doctrine  of  the  Crucifixion  to  the  Chinese,  as  in  their  eyes 
nobody  but  a  criminal  could  have  suffered  that  form  of  death.  The  French 
Minister  felt  strongly  about  this  matter  and  "Begg'd  deane  of  the  Colledg  of 
Cardinalla  de  Propaganda  fide  that  they  (Jesuits)  might  be  enjoyned  to  preach 
Christ  onely  glorified."  The  amusing  part  was  that  a  short  time  afterwards, 
perhaps  made  reminiscent  with  wine,  the  Frenchman  began  to  relate  some 
incidents  of  his  early  life  in  Paris.  Baines  was  much  shocked,  leant  forward, 
and  in  his  quiet  way  "reply'd  onely  '  Et  che  dira  il  Crucifisso.'  "  Finch  states 
that  "the  Frenchman  was  struck  dumbfounded  and  was  filled  with  astonishment 
at  so  unexpected  a  glosse,  which  he  sayd  was  a  more  efficacious  sermon  then 
he  had  heard  from  the  Capuchin  Fryers^." 

Amongst  the  papers  found  at  Burley  and  sent  some  years  since  to  the  Public 
Record  Office  were  a  number  of  loose  manuscript  sheets  in  the  handwritings  of 
Finch  and  Baines.  Many  of  these  deal  entirely  with  Theological  subjects  and 
were  often  written  on  Sundays.  Several  are  headed  by  a  text  from  the  New 
Testament  and  most  of  them,  it  must  be  admitted,  make  rather  wearisome 
reading.  Finch's  page  on  "Descartes"  may  very  well  be  one  of  the  sheets  of 
the  "Treatise"  which  he  sent  weekly  to  his  sister.  One  essay  by  Baines  is 
entitled  "How  far  Human  Reason  is  exercised  in  the  matter  of  ReHgion."     It 

'  Finch  Report  (Hist.  MSS.  Comm.),  vol.  ii,  p.  133,  extract  from  Finch's  note-book,  March  30th,  1676. 
*  Ibii.  pp.  143  and  :44. 


viii]  CONSTANTINOPLE  69 

is  curious  that  Finch  attempts  to  make  Geometry  the  "hand-maid"  of  Theology 
and  "the  line  A.B."  is  called  in  to  aid  in  proving  the  truth  of  certain  religious 
beliefs. 

In  a  letter,  ii-i2th  May,  1681^,  Baines  congratulates  the  Earl  of  Conway 
on  his  becoming  Secretary  of  State,  and  adds: 

I  hope  also  I  shall  live  to  hear  of  these  following  things  brought  about  by  your  Lordship's 
means.  The  taking  away  of  coffee  Houses.. ..For  indeed  they  are  inconsistent  with  govern- 
ment. What  Prince  in  the  world  suffers  them  ?  Nay  the  Grand  Signor,  in  whose  country 
it  is  their  naturall  drinke  and  governs  with  rods  of  iron,  yet  his  irons  would  not  be  strong 
enough  if  Coffee  Houses,  these  mints  of  mutiny,  were  suffered.  In  the  second  place  reforma- 
tion of  Playhouses.  How  many  men  that  want  money  for  the  necessary  provisions  of  their 
own  familys  fool  it  away  there?. ..The  last  thing  my  Lord  is  the  luxury  of  clothes. 

Baines  considered  that  money  should  not  be  wasted  on  dress  but  invested  in 
plate  and  jewels,  in  the  stable,  or  rich  furniture,  as  the  investment  would  be 
so  much  more  lasting. 

Finch  jotted  down  many  curious  things  in  his  note-book  and  in  January, 
1677-8,  he  was  told  how  to  make  coffee.  This  method  of  making  the  drink, 
I  am  informed,  is  a  very  good  one.  One  cannot  help  thinking  that  the  second 
brew  "for  ordinary  people"  might  be  used  now  to  promote  "war  economy." 

Jan.  15-25;    1677-78. 

Take  Coffe  and  putt  to  it  eight  times  its  weight  of  water  Then  lett  it  boyl  till  it  is  con- 
seumed  one  fourth.  Then  a  little  fayr  water  to  it,  and  that  precipitates  it,  and  all  the  sub- 
stance falls  to  the  bottom.  Then  pour  off  the  clear  drinke  into  one  or  more  recipienes  and 
let  it  simper  over  the  fire  or  stand  warm,  and  so  you  have  a  choice  Coffe  all  day  for  your  friends. 
To  the  footes  [i.e.  coffee  grounds]  pour  as  much  water  as  before,  and  boyl  it  till  a  third  part 
be  consumed,  and  then  you  have  a  coffe  for  ordinary  people. 

Another  item  given  in  the  note-book  is  of  great  interest  both  historical 
and  medical,  for  it  tells  of  the  death  of  "Madame,"  Henrietta  Anne,  Duchess 
of  Orleans  and  fifth  daughter  of  Charles  I.  She  died  very  suddenly  in  1670 
and  shortly  after  drinking  some  chicory  water.  Circumstances  were  such  that 
poisoning  was  suspected  and  a  post  mortem  examination  was  performed.  Over 
the  body  Bossuet  delivered  one  of  his  famous  Oraisons  Ftinebres,  in  which  he  says 
"Madame  se  meurt,  Madame  est  morte,"  and  in  which  he  does  not  state  expHcitly 
whether  she  died  a  natural  death  or  not.  The  Comtesse  de  la  Fayette  discusses 
the  circumstances  of  the  death  at  great  length,  and  Littr6  in  his  AUdecine  et 
Medecins  deals  with  the  same  question.  The  truth  seems  to  be  that  "Madame" 
died  from  the  results  of  a  perforating  ulcer  of  the  stomach  and  this  is  the 
view  taken  by  a  "chirurgien  du  Roi  d'Angleterre^"  who  was  present  at  the 
autopsy. 

*  Finch  Report  (Hist.  MSS.  Comm.),  vol.  ii,  p.   112. 
^  MSS.  franjais,  No.   17025,  .is  cited  by  Littri. 


70  CONSTANTINOPLE  [ch.  viii 

Dr  Norman  Moore  tells  me  that  this  is  one  of  the  first  occasions  on  which 
the  above  lesion  was  noted  post  mortem.  Here  is  the  account  given  to  Finch 
who  writes  on  December  20-30th,  1675,  saying: 

...the  new  Bailo,  L.  F.  Morosini,  who  had  been  ambassador  in  Savoy,  France  and  Vienna, 
made  me  a  return  of  my  first  visit... He  told  me  for  certain  that  there  was  a  hole  found  in  the 
stomach  of  Madame... as  big  as  one's  finger,  and  that  he  had  not  bin  two  hours  from  St  Cloue, 
from  the  company  of  Madame  before  he  heard  the  news  of  her  death  from  the  Dutchesse  of 
Elboeuf,  who  treated  him  that  night  at  supper. 

The  nephew  Daniel  Finch  apparently  made  any  necessary  purchases  for 
Finch  in  England ;  some  of  the  orders  throw  light  on  the  customs  and  tastes 
of  the  times:  "Corks  by  all  conveniences  are  necessary,  and  when  you  send 
any  more  wine,  I  pray  forget  not  an  adjunct  of  Northdown  ale  and  a  lesse 
quantity  of  Mum^."     In  the  matter  of  clothes  Finch  was  quite  particular: 

I  desire  you  to  send  me  out  a  summer  suit,  but  take  notice  (.?)  that  gravity  of  apparrell 
must  not  consist  in  any  very  (?)  sad  colours,  for  none  here  but  Jewes  wear  them...I  pray 
send  me  some  scarlet  and  black  ribband,  and  a  piece  or  two  also  of  some  narrow  ribband, 
twopenny  broad...*. 

I  have  been  unable  to  find  any  letters  from  Finch  or  Baines  to  Henry  More, 
the  man  who  exerted  such  an  influence  on  both  their  lives,  for  he  had  had  them 
under  him  when  their  minds  were  still  plastic  and  so  any  mention  of  him  is  for 
that  reason  very  interesting.  As  we  have  mentioned  above.  More  several  times 
wrote  to  Sir  John  at  the  direction  of  his  hostess  at  Ragley.  Baines,  in  the 
letter  to  Covel  (p.  63),  sends  an  interesting  message  to  the  Platonist : 

To  my  Dear  and  Honour'd  Tutor  present  me  in  all  service  and  in  most  faithfull  affection 
more  particularly:  I  pray  tell  him  he  brought  me  up  a  scholler;  but  I  have  brought  myselfe 
up  a  Merchant:  and  therefore  look  very  near  to  the  Exchanges  I  make  quid  pro  quo:  there- 
fore I  finding  by  our  letters  that  when  I  quote  Virgil  he  makes  a  return  to  me  in  a  piece  of 
Ovid:  the  trade  is  so  disadvantageous  that  I  must  break  it  off.  I  Quote  Austin  He  quotes 
Dod  and  Clever:    Alas  poor  Merchant  wither  wilt  thou  goo.... 

As  early  as  1677  Finch  wearied  of  the  work  at  Constantinople  and  during 
this  year  he  desired  Conway  to  obtain  a  position  for  him  in  England  and  also 
wrote  to  the  Lord  Treasurer,  the  Earl  of  Danby  (Sir  Thomas  Osburn).  In 
the  letter  to  Covel  quoted  in  part  above,  Baines  says  that  Finch  had  put 
himself  in  the  Lord  Chancellor's  hands  and  would  acquiesce  in  what  he  wished. 
This  was  in  1679,  and  by  January,  1680-1,  arrangements  were  being  made  to 
send  out  Lord  Chandois  to  succeed  Finch,  but  he  did  not  arrive  till  June,  1681, 
and  Finch  did  not  leave  until  the  autumn  of  that  year. 

1  Finch  Report  (Hist.  MSS.  Comm.),  vol.  n,  p.  65.     The  word  "mum"  is  defined  in  the  Oxford  Dictionary  as 
a  "beer  brewed  in  Brunswick." 
^  Ibid.  p.  64. 


CHAPTER    IX 

DEATH   OF   BAINES 

Dr  Thomas  Allen,  a  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society,  was  to  act  for  Baines  as 
Professor  of  Music  at  Gresham  College  whilst  the  latter  was  in  Turkey,  but  in 
l68l,  Wm.  Perry  was  chosen  to  take  Baines'  place^;  however,  Baines  died  on 
the  5th  September,  and  could  not  have  heard  of  the  change. 

In  August,  168 1,  Baines  was  stricken  with  his  last  illness,  and  the  story 
could  not  be  better  told  than  in  Finch's  own  words  in  his  note-book  and  letters. 

Memorandum  by  Sir  John  Finch,  Aug.  28th,  1681. 

My  dearest  friend,  Sir  Thomas  Baines,  now  lying  very  sick  and  weak,  I  fearing  his  disease 
might  prove  mortall,  with  great  sorrow  of  heart  I  told  him  my  opinion  of  his  condition,  and 
desired  him,  whilst  he  was  in  perfect  understanding,  to  tell  me,  since  he  had  given  me  all  his 
estate,  both  reall  and  personal,  and  made  me  his  sole  executor  by  his  last  will  and  testament, 
published  June  the  second  1673:  what  he  would  have  me  dispose  out  of  his  estate  and  to 
whome.  Whereupon,  after  many  thoughts  he  desired,  confirming  and  ratifying  his  will 
published  in  1673,  that  what  he  should  now  further  appoint  and  order  might  be  annexed 
a  codicill  to  the  said  will-. 

Then  there  follows  a  list  of  bequests  to  Baines'  brothers,  half-sister  and 
nieces,  also  £50  for  Henry  More,  with  which  he  was  to  buy  a  ring,  something 
for  Edward  Brown,  clerk,  Wm.  Carpenter  (Finch's  secretary)  and  Zaccarias, 
Baines'  "faithful  Armenian  servant." 

A  few  days  after  the  death  of  "honest  Dr  Baines"  Finch  wrote  to  his  brother 
Heneage  and  on  the  same  day  made  out  the  codicil  to  his  own  will,  which  is 
printed  below  (p.  81). 

Dear  brother,  and  most  honoured  Lord,  I  have  lost  Sir  Thomas  Baines,  and  your  Lord- 
ship in  him,  and  your  family  the  faithfullest  servant,  as  well  as  the  best  of  friends,  after 
fifteen  days  accession  of  a  malignant  feavor,  added  to  the  inexpressible  torments  of  the 
stones  in  his  bladder  (for  being  open'd  there  were  two,  each  as  bigg  as  large  walnutts) :  on 
Monday  September  the  5  at  three  of  the  clock  in  the  afternoon,  he  gave  up  his  soul  into  the 
hands  of  most  mercifull  God,  and  I  received  his  last  breath.  There  needs  no  comment  to 
your  Lordship  upon  this  subject,  who  knew  all  things  that  ever  passed  between  us,  and  have 
been  exercised  in  griefs  of  a  high  nature.  Though  I  am  weak  in  bed  yet  I  hold  absolute  neces- 
sity to  write  now,  in  regard  that  I  would  entreat  )-our  Lordship  to  be  early  in  doing  at  the 
Prerogative  office  what  is  necessary,  for  I  have  no  insight  in  probate  of  wills,  and  therefore 
I  am  glad  it  is  under  your  Lordship's  care.  Sir  Thomas  his  will  is  in  your  hands  as  my  own, 
and  Sir  Eliab  Harvey  hath  duplicates  also,  wherefore  I  send  you  not  a  copy  of  it,  but  the 

'  Ward,  Lives  of  the  Professors  of  Gresham  College.  ^  Finch  Report,  vol.  11,  p.   117. 


72  DEATH  OF   BAINES  [ch. 

codicill  now  to  Sir  Thomas  his  will  I  send  you  a  copy  of:  and  so  beseeching  the  Almighty  to 
have  your  person  and  family  in  his  holy  protection,  I  rest  with  unspeakable  affection,  your 
dear  brother  and  most  humble  and  most  obedient  servant. 

Postscript.  My  Lord,  in  this  disorder  of  thoughts  and  weakness  of  body,  I  lye  under, 
I  had  like  to  have  forgotten  to  congratulate  with  your  Lordship  his  Majesty's  favour  in 
creating  you  Earle  of  Nottingham,  which  now  I  doe  from  all  the  facultys  of  my  soul,  beseeching 
Almighty  God  to  grant  you  a  long  and  happy  life'. 

Sir  John  Finch's  note-book  also  contains  some  interesting  items  jotted 
down  at  this  time: 

...but  that  which  cutt  ofl  the  thread  of  all  my  worldly  happinesse  and  application  to  business 
was  the  mahgnant  double  tertian  which  seised,  August  the  22nd  my  dear  friend  Sir  Thomas 
Baines,  and  on  Monday  the  5th  of  September  brought  him  to  his  last  end... which  irreparable 
losse  brought  my  tertian  to  a  double  tertian  also,  and  that  reduced  me  to  so  much  weaknesse 
that  I  was  given  over  by  my  physitian,  one  Altios  a  Portugese  Jew,  and  by  all  others  especially 
upon  my  relapse. 

I  gave  Mr  Jenkins  the  chirurgeon  and  Mr  Cranmer  the  ship  surgeon  each  of  them 
28  zecchini  for  their  pains  in  embalming  him^. 

Finch's  superstition  has  been  remarked  upon  before,  and  looking  back  after 
Baines'  death,  he  thought  he  discovered  that  the  friends  had  been  forewarned 
of  the  end  of  their  conjoint  life. 

Two  things  I  cannot  omitt.     The  first  is  that  Sir  Thomas  and  I  sitting  at  table  in  our 
gallery  at  Pera,  after  supper,  about  a  year  before  his  death,  there  was  a  loud  knocking  upon 
the  round  table  wee  sat  at,  for  near  the  space  of  a  quarter  of  an  hour.     We  called  in  three 
servants,  my  secretary,  Derham,  and  Zacar,  which  last,  astonished  at  the  thing  threw  off   , , 
the  carpet  \i.e.  the  table  cover]  and  crept  under  the  table;    and  then  the  knocking  seemed    1 
to  be  above  the  table:    as  it  seemed  to  us  to  be  underneath  it. 

The  second  was  that  about  foure  dayes  before  Sir  Thomas  his  sicknesse,  one  of  my 
dentes  incisores  dropt  out  of  my  head  without  any  pain  whilst  wee  dined  together;  which 
seemes  to  confirm  the  interpretation  of  those  who  make  the  dreaming  of  the  losse  of  a  tooth 
to  be  the  prediction  of  the  losse  of  a  friend. 

About  five  days  before  his  death.  Sir  Thomas  told  me  that  he  was  very  certain  he  should 
dye,  according  to  the  method  of  providence :  for  that  God  had,  under  many  diseases  preserved 
him  so  long  as  he  could  be  any  wayes  usefull  or  serviceable  to  me,  but  that  now,  returning 
into  England  where  my  friends  were  all  so  well  in  their  severall  posts,  he  could  no  longer  be 
of  any  use  to  me,  and  therefore  God  would  put  a  period  to  that  life  which  he  only  wished  for 
my  sake. 

Thus  died  the  best  friend  the  world  ever  had,  for  prudence,  learning,  integrity  of  life  and 
affection;  and  I  have  many  reasons  (not  to  say  demonstrations)  to  say  that  as  he  feared  God, 
so  God  was  in  an  extraordinary  manner  with  him ;  but  they  are  not  so  fitt  to  putt  in  paper,  jf" 
least  the  reall  participation  of  God's  spirit  to  him,  even  to  revelations  of  things  to  come, 
might  administer  occasion  of  scoffing  to  those  who  scarce  believe  he  hath  not  left  behind  him 
so  great  learning,  accompanied  with  so  great  prudence  and  integrity  of  life. 

"The  Doctors"  do  not  seem  to  have  had  very  many  intimate  friends  except 
the  Conways,  for  practically  all  their  lives  were  spent  in  foreign  parts,  and  yet 
had  Baines  died  at  home,  Finch  could  scarcely  have  felt  the  death  of  his  friend 

1  Finch  Report  (Hist.  MSS.  Coram.),  vol.  11,  p.  118.     Sept.  9-19,  Pera. 

2  Ibid.  p.  162. 


^ 


ix]  DEATH  OF   BAINES  73 

less  hard  to  bear.  Each  was  sufficient  unto  the  other — in  fact  they  were  married 
to  each  other  in  all  their  interests — and  we  can  picture  Finch's  great  sorrow 
and  grief  when  he  realized  that  he  could  no  more  go  to  "Sir  Thomas"  for  advice 
or  for  sympathy  and  consolation  in  "dark  hours,"  that  time  when  a  true  friend 
is  a  friend  indeed. 

Finch  appeared  in  public  as  the  leader  of  the  two,  but  to  what  extent  he 
was  indebted  to  his  helpmate  and  senior,  Baines,  for  his  success  in  diplomatic 
and  scientific  work,  we  shall  never  know.  As  we  shall  see.  Finch  was  the  last 
person  in  the  world  to  withhold  the  credit  due  to  Baines.  One  would  hke  to 
have  it  so,  and  certainly  one  forms  the  idea  in  going  through  the  letters  and 
records,  that  "honest  Dr  Baines"  was  the  guiding  hand,  the  quiet  worker  behind 
the  scenes,  in  Finch's  career.  Baines  was  not  the  man  of  action  or  of  decision 
— this  may  be  accounted  for  by  his  almost  persistent  ill-health;  but  the  quiet, 
meditative  and  reflective  natures,  the  profounder  students,  will  ever  fill  a  large 
place  in  the  world.  Ward^  closes  his  sketch  of  Baines  with  the  words  "An 
instance  of  so  long,  intimate  and  inviolable  friendship  is  very  remarkable  and 
but  rarely  to  be  found  in  history.  And  therefore  he  is  very  justly  called  by 
Dr  Charlton  'fidissimus  J.  Finch  Achates.'" 

Finch  wrote  the  rough  draft  in  three  pages  of  a  document  endorsed  by 
himself  "My  dedication  to  Sir  Thomas  Baines^."  There  are  no  printed  books 
by  him  in  the  catalogue  of  the  British  Museum,  but  in  the  dedication  he  mentions 
"the  ensuing  discourse"  and  it  seems  very  probable  that  he  intended  to  gather 
together  those  weekly  essays  which  he  used  to  send  to  the  Conways.  This 
document  shows  how  intimate  the  friendship  was  of  Finch  and  Baines,  and  we 
give  it  in  full  as  it  is  a  very  remarkable  record.  It  was  certainly  written  after 
Baines  was  knighted  and  probably  at  "Pera  of  Constantinople,"  but  the  exact 
date  is  not  known.  A  rough  reckoning  from  the  "internal  evidence"  of  the 
MS.  would  suggest  the  date  1681. 

Dedication  by  Sir  John  Finch  to  Sir  Thomas  Baines. 

'Tis  now  full  thirty-six*  years  since  I  began  the  happinesse  of  a  uninterrupted  friendship 
which  the  world  never  yet  did  equal,  nor  I  believe  will  ever  parallel.  This  alone  might  very 
well  entitle  you  to  this  dedication,  as  a  monument  of  our  friendship.  But  though  friendship 
is  a  thing  sacred  and  coelestiall,  yet  I  take  gratitude  to  be  a  higher  nature:  for  the  first  is  a 
thing  of  choice,  but  the  latter  of  perfect  obligation :  and  upon  this  account  of  gratitude,  I 
had  rather  entitle  you  to  this  address,  that  there  might  be  nothing  owing  to  me  on  your  part, 
to  whom  I  owe  more  than  I  can  either  acknowledge  or  return.  For  to  speak  to  you  Sir  without 
flattery,  a  thing  you  have  many  years  since  taught  me  to  abhorr,  all  that  I  doe  or  ever  shall 
know,  is  deriv'd  from  those  many  hours  of  tendernesse  of  your  regard  for  me  made  you 
throw  away  from  your  own  most  severe  thoughts,  which  were  in  their  relaxation  and  recreation 

'  Ward,  loc.  cit.  ^  Finch  Report  (Hist.  MSS.  Comm.),  vol.  ii,  p.  128. 

'  "Thirty-three"  erased,  "thirty-six"  written  over  it. 

H.  10 


74  DEATH  OF   BAINES  [ch. 

more  serious  than  those  of  many  who  passed  as  students,  in  the  retirement  of  their  closet. 
Those  happy  five  years  that  in  Christ  Colledge  in  Cambridge  gave  me  the  advantage  not 
onely  of  an  education  under  so  great  a  distinguisher  of  realitys  from  ayery  notions,  but  also 
the  freedome  of  an  unreserved  converse,  make  me  blush  that  from  so  deep  a  foundation  I 
have  raised  no  higher  a  building.  But  at  the  same  time  it  justly  engaged  me  to  submitt  the 
errors  of  my  fabrick  to  yourselfe,  who  are  so  great  an  architect  in  knowledge. 

I  must  confesse  that  when  your  patience  had  in  some  measure  fitted  me  to  apprehend 
your  discourses,  I  could  not  but  profitt  by  them:  and  the  small  flights  I  tooke  from  the 
deductions  they  gave  me,  made  me  at  last,  wing'd  with  what  you  had  taught,  committ 
myselfe,  like  birds  that  leave  their  nests  to  the  guidance  of  my  owne  strength  and  reason, 
which  then  became  to  you  part  of  the  delight,  as  before  it  was  the  whole  trouble  of  our  con- 
versation. 

Then  it  was  we  resolved  upon  a  five  years  travel  into  Italy,  where,  after  we  had  first 
spent  one  year  in  France,  it  pleased  God  to  fix  us  upon  our  private. 

In  six  and  twenty  years  further  intimate  and  endearing  communication  together  (of 
which  two-and-twenty  were  spent  in  Italy  in  our  joint  private  study,  and  then  our  joint 
serving  of  Ferdinand  the  Second,  the  Great  Duke  of  Tuscany  of  ever  glorious  memory,  and 
wee  never  having  bin  separated  two  months  from  each  other,  but  in  the  exercising  of  some 
kindnesse,  though  two  and  twenty  of  these  years  were  spent  in  foreign  parts,  and  eleven  of 
them  I  was  employed  in  his  Majesty's  ser\'ice  in  Italy  and  Turkey),  no  wonder  if  our  thoughts 
became  so  familiar  to  each  other  that  sometimes  wee  forgott  to  whom  they  originally  belonged 
...especially  on  my  part,  who  had  the  advantage  of  adopting  those  vigourous  intellectual 
productions  of  yours:  which  is  the  third  motive  which  makes  me  prefi.x  the  dear  name  of 
Sir  Thomas  Baines  to  the  ensuing  discourse  for  it  is  an  act  of  justice  to  render  back  what  I 
borrowed.  Whatsoever  therefore  is  agreeable  in  it  to  your  solid  judgment,  call  it  yours, 
for  I  shall  avow  it  to  be  so.  What  is  not  suitable  to  your  thoughts,  as  several  things  may 
prove  (for  wee  never  esteemed  difference  in  opinion  to  be  a  motive  of  making  any  difference 
in  friendship),  that  must  be  mine,  though  it  should  not  be  so  if  I  could  thinke  otherwise. 

But  lastly  Sir  when  I  consider  that  of  the  twenty-six  years  wee  spent  together  since  wee 
first  left  England,  that  wee  never  have  bin  separated  two  moneths  from  each  other  unlesse 
it  were  in  the  exercising  some  act  of  kindnesse  though  two  and  twenty  of  them  spent  in  foreign 
parts:  one  half  of  them  being  employed  in  our  private  studys  in  Italy,  and  three  years  joint 
service  of  that  prince  of  immortall  prudence  and  memory,  Ferdinand  the  Second,  great  Duke 
of  Tuscany :  and  the  other  half  in  the  publick  charges  of  recident  in  that  court  and  ambassador 
to  the  Gran  Signor,  his  Majesty  my  most  gracious  sovereign  and  master  was  pleased  to  confer 
upon  my  weake  ability:  your  inimitable  as  well  as  unrequitable  friendship  though  you  were 
wracked  with  stone  and  tormented  by  the  gout,  inspiring  you  with  courage  to  accompany 
me  in  your  declining  years  and  strength  all  this  length  of  time  and  voyage:  the  greatest 
temporal!  blessing  could  have  befallen  me — so  that  I  may  say  as  truly  of  you  as  Aneas  did 
Anchises,  and  I  doe  say  more  affectionately, 

lUe  meum  Comitatus  iter  maria  omnia  mecum 
Atque  omnes  Pelagique  minas  coelique  ferebat 
Invalidus  vires  ultra  sortemque  Senectae. 

When  dear  Sir  I  consider  all  this,  I  find  that  under  all  the  ties  of  honour,  friendship, 
gratitude  and  justice,  you  are  entitled  to  this  dedication... [Unfinished  Draft]. 

Baines'  body  was  embalmed  at  Constantinople,  but  the  following  "Epetaph 
on  Sir  Thomas  Baines  his  Bowells  inter'd  att  Constantinople  made  by  Sir  John 
Finch,  1682,"  as  the  manuscript  at  the  British  Museum^  is  endorsed,  shows  that 
the  intestines  were  buried  in  Turkey,  perhaps  on  "Demetrius  Hill"  whence 

»  Sloane  MSS.  3329,  ff.  5-6. 


ix]  DEATH  OF   BAINES  75 

Finch  and  Baines  so  often  dated  their  letters,  but  Finch  does  not  enlighten  us 
on  this  point  nor  can  I  find  any  reference  to  it.  It  is  not  in  the  hand  of  Sir  John 
Finch.  Sir  Edwin  Pears,  so  long  a  resident  in  Constantinople,  tells  me  that, 
with  some  friends,  he  made  a  copy  of  all  the  inscriptions  in  the  Enghsh  cemetery 
at  Pera ;  unfortunately  his  MS.  is  deposited  in  the  Chapel  of  the  Embassy  there 
>^  and  is  now  of  course  inaccessible !  Sir  Edwin  Pears  cannot  recollect  this  parti- 
cular epitaph.  Such  an  epitaph,  we  think,  is  unique.  We  give  it  in  the  Latin 
of  the  period  and  also  a  translation. 

Stupendae,  Pije,  ac  omni  Seculo  Venerandx  Amicitiae,  S: 

Inter 

Clarissimum  Illustrissimumque  Virum 

D:     Thomam  Baines  Equitem  Auratum 

Cujus  Interiora  hie  posita  sunt; 

Et 

Illustrissimum  Excellentissimumque  D :  Johannem  Finch  E :  A :  Legatum  &cfa 

Qui  post  suave  et  irruptum  Animorum  Connubium 

Indivulsumque  per  XXXVI  Integros  Annos  Sodalitium; 

Has  Exuvias  Inenarrabili  Amori  Sacras, 

Et  sibi  percharas  Reliquias,  Byzantinae  Ditioni 

Gemebundus,  Committit  Simul  et  Invidet: 

Quicquid  praeterea  Pollinctura  condiri  potuit, 

Totum  illud  Secum  abducit  Legatus  redux,  in  Angliam, 

Charum  sed  Triste  Consortium, 
Ut  eodem  Sepulchro  claudantur  Inseparabiles  Amici. 
Nee  enim  par  erat  ut  distinguerentur  eorum  Cineres  mortui 
Qui  Mei  ac  Tui  Nomina  tanquam  Amicitiae  Exosa  et  Infesta 
Dum  inter  Vivos  essent,  in  Exiiium  egerunt. 
Atque  hinc  Amicitia  quae  a  casteris  Mortalibus  pro  nudo  Nomine  habetur, 
Inter  Nos  indubitato  extitit  Res;    ac  vera  Virtus; 
Elapsis  Seculis,  licet  Fabulosis  inaudita,  et  futuris,  segre  imitabilis. 
Decus  hoc  et  honestamentum  Amicitiae,  semper  miraberis  Viator;    Sed  modo  deflebis 
Si  Viscera  habeas  vel  Ferentis,  vel  Ponentis  hoc  Marmor. 
Nunc  de  Integerrimo  et  Conjunctissimo  Meo  Bainesio,  Pauca  ex  multis  dicam. 
In  omni  Re  Literaria  fuit  tarn  profunde  eruditus 
Ut  Platonis  et  Stagiritae  Manes  in  illo  credideris  redivivos 
Nisi  quod  Sublimitate  Ingenij  Utrosque  Illorum,  Caeterosque  omnes 
Celebritate  Nominis  Insignes,  facile  Superaret. 
Momenta  enim  rationis  Universalis  111!  Soli  (quod  Sciam)  inter  Mortales  innotuerunt. 
Nee  Minor  fuit  in  Rebus  gerendis:    Quibus  nominibus 
Ssmi  Ferd:  II:  et  Cosm :  III:  MDH:  Principes  Immortalis  Prudentias; 
Bainesium  Nostrum,  inter  Viros  Summe  praeclaros  annumerabant, 
Famamque  Ipsius,  cum  Colloquiorum,  tum  Literarum, 
Insuper  et  Munerum  frequentia  extendebant : 
More  His  Heroibus  consueto,  erga  Viros  Primarios. 
Princepsque  Pater,  Ilium  Caput  Ferreum  Vocitabat: 
Nam  vel  inter  faeetias  (Vh  enim  fuit  Amoenissimi  Ingenij) 
Nihil  protulit  quod  non  Simul  in  Scopum  aliquem  Serium  dirigeretur. 
Ea  denique  illibata  Virtute  ac  morum  gravitate  prxditus  fuit, 
Ut  nemo  ausus  sit  Ipsius  Aures  Minus  honeste  dictis  vulnerare. 
Atroces  Cruciatus ;    E.xortos  a  Lancinatione  Calculorum  Vesicae ; 


76  DEATH  OF   BAINES  [ch.  ix 

Duo  enim  aderant  In  glandis  Magnitudine, 

Christiana  fortitudine,  ultra  Stoicism!  jactantiam  pertulit. 

Tanti  Viri,  Talisque  Amicitiae  irreparabilem  proh  dolor!    Jacturam  feci; 

Dum  inter  Amplexus  et  Gemitus,  ultimum  Ipsius  Spiritum  Exciperem; 

Die  V:    Septembris  H:  III.  PM:  MDCLXXXI :  ^t:  Suse  LIX. 

Vi%'am  Charissime!  Memor  Nostras  Amicitiae,  et 

Nulla  Dies  Unquam  Memori  Nos  eximet  /Evo. 

This  is  erected  to  the  wonderful,  pious  Friendship,  to  be  venerated  in  every  age,  between 
the  most  renowned  and  illustrious  man  Sir  Thomas  Baines,  Knight,  whose  bowels  are  deposited 
here,  and  the  most  honourable  and  excellent  Sir  John  Finch,  Knight,  Ambassador,  etc..  Who 
after  a  beautiful  and  unbroken  marriage  of  souls  and  a  companionship  undivided  during 
XXXVI  complete  years,  with  groanings  commits  (and  at  the  same  time  envies)  these  parts, 
sacred  to  an  unspeakable  love,  and  these  remains  very  dear  to  him,  to  the  Byzantine  dominion : 
Whatever  further  of  the  body  by  preparation  could  be  embalmed,  all  this  the  Ambassador  brings 
with  him  coming  home  into  England,  a  dear  but  sad  companionship,  so  that  the  inseparable 
friends  may  be  enclosed  in  the  same  tomb:  for  it  does  not  appear  right  that  their  dead  ashes 
should  be  distinguished  who,  whilst  they  were  living  put  far  away  from  them  the  words 
Mine  and  Thine,  as  hateful  and  hostile  to  friendship :  and  hence  Friendship  which  to  other 
mortals  is  a  bare  name,  between  us  without  doubt  became  a  great  thing,  and  a  true  virtue, 
in  times  gone  by  perhaps  unheard  of  in  history,  and  in  the  future  scarcely  to  be  imitated. 
This  ornament  and  honour  to  friendship,  always  thou  shalt  wonder  at  oh  traveller,  but  now 
thou  shalt  weep,  if  thou  hast  a  heart  like  his  who  bears  or  like  his  who  places  this  marble. 

Now  let  me  say  a  few  things  out  of  many,  concerning  my  most  honourable  and  beloved 
friend  Baines. 

In  all  things  literary  he  was  so  profoundly  learned  that  thou  wouldst  have  believed  the 
shades  of  Plato  and  the  Stagirite  to  have  lived  again  in  him,  were  it  not  that  he  easily  surpassed 
each  of  them  in  the  sublimity  of  his  knowledge,  and  all  other  famous  men  in  the  celebrity  of  his 
name:  for  to  him  alone  (as  I  know)  were  known  the  movements  of  universal  reason.  Nor  was 
he  less  great  in  what  he  did:  on  which  account  the  most  serene  Ferdinand  II  and  Cosimo  III 
M.D.H.  Princes  of  immortal  wisdom,  numbered  our  Baines  amongst  the  most  famous  men, 
and  spread  forth  his  fame  by  conversations,  letters,  and  above  all  by  their  gifts,  as  is  the 
manner  of  these  heroes  towards  remarkable  men,  and  the  Prince,  the  father,  used  to  call 
him  "The  Iron  Head."  For  indeed  in  his  jests  (for  he  was  a  man  of  charming  wit)  he  put 
forth  nothing  that  was  not  at  the  same  time  directed  to  some  serious  object.  Thereupon 
by  this  unimpaired  virtue  and  by  the  gravity  of  his  manners  he  was  revealed  so  that  no  one 
dared  to  wound  his  ears  with  speeches  less  becoming.  Cruel  tortures,  arising  from  the  lacera- 
tion of  the  stones  of  the  bladder  (two  were  of  the  size  of  a  walnut)  he  bore  with  Christian 
fortitude,  beyond  the  boasting  of  the  Stoicism — alas  what  grief!  I  have  suffered  the  irre- 
parable loss  of  such  a  man,  and  of  such  a  friendship,  whilst  between  embracing  and  groaning 
I  have  listened  to  his  last  breath  on  the  Vth  day  of  September  Ilird  hour  P.M.  MDCLXXXI : 
in  the  LIXth  year  of  his  age. 

I  shall  live,  0  beloved !  mindful  of  our  Friendship,  and  no  day  shall  ever  remove  us  from 
a  remembering  age. 


CHAPTER    X 

RETURN   OF   FINCH 

Finch  came  home  to  England  on  board  the  Oxford  with  the  sad  cargo  of 
Baines'  coffin  and  arrived  at  the  Downs  in  July,  1682.  He  wrote  his  last  will 
on  this  voyage  and  in  the  early  part  of  the  journey  was  evidently  in  very  poor 
health.  He  visited  Italy  and  wrote  to  his  nephew  on  March  llth-2ist, 
1681-2  :  "...In  this  time  I  have  been  at  Leghorn,  I  have  here  and  from 
Florence  furnished  myself  with  the  best  sett  of  pictures,  I  dare  say,  that  are  in 
any  private  gentleman's  hands.  They  are  above  sixty  in  number,  and  four  of 
them  of  Carlo  Dolce^."  He  intended  to  cross  over  France  from  Marseilles  to 
Calais  "by  letiica"  (horse-litter),  but  in  the  end  came  all  the  way  by  ship  except 
that  touching  at  Spain  he  made  a  short  trip  to  Seville. 

Sir  John  Finch,  on  his  arrival  in  England  in  July,  1682,  wished  to  defer  the 

burial  of  his  friend  until  the  5th  of  September,  the  anniversary  of  Baines'  death^, 

"and  then  I  can  say  Nunc  Dimittis  Domine."     He  writes  from  the  Downs  5th 

July,  1682,  to  Daniel  Finch,  telling  of  all  the  impedimenta  which  he  brought 

back  with  him: 

My  last  would  tell  you  that  I  have  resolved  to  go  up  the  river  by  the  Oxford  and  shall 
thinke  myselfe  extreamly  happy  to  see  [you  ?]  at  the  long  Reach.  I  believe  a  barge  will  be 
most  convenient  as  I  can  put  three  or  four  trunkes  upon  it  which  cannot  well  be  left  for  any 
other  passage.  Besides  these  there  will  be  53  trunkes  more,  and  chests  I  brought  from  Con- 
stantinople 19  of  which  being  books,  are  large  and  bulky  and  I  have  added  to  them  23  chests 
more  of  Italian  pictures  and  statues;  so  that  they  will  require  a  hoy  or  vessell  that  hath 
a  dry  hold  to  keepe  them  from  rain  above  and  sea  water  below  there  are  also  15  chests 
Florence  wine,  a  butt  of  Smyrna,  6  saragoza.  If  wine  in  bottles  pay  no  custom,  I  will  have 
50  dozen  bought  for  me  with  good  corks.  The  bearer  of  this,  Mr  Peters,  purser  of  the  Oxford, 
who  has  been  with  me  from  Constantinople  will  acquaint  you  with  some  further  particulars. 
I  hope  you  and  the  Board  will  be  satisfied  with  him  as  I  have  been.. ..I  am,  blesse  God,  in 
much  better  health  then  I  ever  could  have  hoped  after  so  much  weaknesse  and  sicknesse  and 
sorrow,  and  after  so  tedious  a  voyage'. 

I  can  find  no  evidence  of  the  actual  date  of  Baines'  burial,  nor  any  trace 
of  a  Latin  oration  which  Finch  is  then  said  to  have  delivered.  Peile,  quoting 
the  Audit  Book  of  Christ's  College,  gives  an  interesting  account  of  Finch's  visit 

'  Finch  Report  (Hist.  MSS.  Comm.),  vol.  ii,  p.  167.     M.irch,  1681-2. 

'  Ibid.  vol.  II,  p.  176,  1682,  July  i-ii,  also  see  p.  121,  letter  of  Finch  to  Daniel,  23rd  Sep.,  1681,  O.S. 

'  Ibid.  vol.  II,  p.  177. 


78  RETURN  OF   FINCH  [ch.  x 

to  Cambridge;  all  the  expenses  are  detailed,  as  the  "Foundress'  Chamber" 
was  partially  reconstructed  by  Grumbold  for  ^^9.  19^-.  6d.  and  one  end  of  the 
room  wainscotted  by  Austin  for  ,^19.  I2s.^.  He  was  met  by  the  Fellows  and 
Scholars  in  coaches  and  on  horseback  at  Trumpington,  and  men- were  drawn 
up  at  the  College  gate  to  welcome  him.  A  dinner  was  given  in  his  honour 
which  cost  £16.  175.  3^.  and  wine  at  the  dinner  £2.  lis.  6d. 

It  is  probable  that  at  this  time  the  scheme  of  the  Finch  and  Baines  Fellow- 
ship was  discussed,  for  there  is  a  letter  from  the  Master  (Cudworth)  and  Fellows 
to  Finch  dated  28th  October,  thanking  him  for  the  intended  legacy  and  stating 
that  Finch's  nephew  could  be  nominated  the  first  Fellow.  Peile  gives  a  splendid 
account  of  this  new  Foundation  which  remained  separate  from  the  old  one 
until  i860.  The  new  Fellows  were  to  be  of  any  country,  were  not  required  to 
take  Holy  Orders,  might  "profess  Physick,  Law  or  Divinity"  (but  if  in  Orders, 
might  hold  with  their  Fellowship  any  preferment  under  ;£5o),  and  those  in  the 
profession  of  Law  or  Physic  might  travel  out  of  the  kingdom  for  three  years ; 
for  a  longer  or  a  second  absence  the  permission  of  the  College  was  required,  but 
when  in  England  they  were  required  to  be  in  residence.  Any  of  the  Founders' 
kin  were  to  be  preferred  as  Fellows  "if  well  qualified  with  learning  and  manners." 
In  his  turn  Daniel,  second  Earl  of  Nottingham,  nominated  seven  Fellows,  some 
of  whom  were  members  of  the  Finch  family. 

1  "This  work  remains  to  the  present  day"  (Peile),  but  I  think  the  present  Master  has  altered  this  room. 


piciu  nil 


Monument  over  the  Grave  of  Finch  ami   Baines,  with  Epitaph   by 
Henry   More   (Christ's  College) 


EPITAPH    ON   THE   iMONUMENT   OVER   THE 
GRAVE   OF   FINCH    AND    BAINES. 

EFFARE  MARMOR, 

Cuja  sunt  hasc  duo  qux  sustentas  Capita 

Duoruin  Amicissimorum,  quibus  Cor  erat  unum,  unaq.  Anima, 

D.  lOHANNIS  FINCHII  et  D.  THOM^  BAINESH 

Equitum  Auratorum, 

V'lroruni  omnimoda  sapientiii  Aristotclica,  Platonica, 

Hippocratica 

Rcrumq.  adeo  gerundarum  Peritia  Plane  suniniorum, 

atq.  hisce  nominibus  et  ob  praclarum  imniortalis  amicitia: 

cxempluni 

sub  amantissimi  Tutorls  HENRICI  MORI  auspicijs 

hoc  ipso  in  Collegio  initx 

Per  totum  tcrrarum  orbem  celebratissimorum. 

Hi  mores,  hacc  studia,  hie  successus,  genus  vero 

si  qujeris  et  necessitudines 

Horum  alter  D.  HENEAGII  FINCHII  Equltis  Aurati  Filius  erat 

HENEAGII  vero  FINCHII  Comitis  Nottinganiicnsis  Fratcr, 

Non  magis  luris  quam  lustitiae  consulti, 

Regis  Majestati  a  consiliis  secrctioribus  summiq. 

Anglia;  Cancellarii, 

V'iri  prudentissimi,  religiosissimi, 

eloquent issinii,  intcgcrrimi, 

Principi,  Patria.-,  atq.  Ecclcsia;  Anglicana:  tharissimi, 

IngeniosS,  numerosa,  prosperaq.  Prole  pra:  caeteris 

mortalibus,  felicissiini  : 

Alter  1).  lOHANNIS  FINCHII,  viri  omni  laude 

majoris  Amicus  intimus, 

Perpctuusq.  per  triginta  plus  minus  annos 

Fortunarum  ac  consiliorum  Particcps, 

Longarumq.  in  extcras  Nationes  Itinerationum 

indivulsus  Comes ; 

Hie  igitur  percgrc  apud  Turcas  vita  functus 

est,  nee  prius  tamcn  quam  alter 

A  serenissimo  Rege  Anglia-  per  Decennium  Legatus 

praeclare  suo  functus  esset  munere. 

Tunc  demum  dilectissimus  BAINESIUS  suam  et  Amici 

FINCHII  simul  Aniniam  H\zantii  efflavit, 

Die  \'  Scptembris  H.  III.  P.M.  A.D.  MDCLXXXI.  ^tatis  sua:  LIX. 

Quid  igitur  fecerit  akcrum  hoc  corpus  animA  cassum  rogas, 

Ruit ;  sed  in  amplexus  alterius  indoluit,  ingcmuit, 

ubertim  flcvit 

Totum  in  l.acrymas,  nisi  ncscio  qua:  communis  utriq.  Anima; 

reliquia;  cohibuissent,  Diffluxurum, 


Ncc  tanicn  umis  dolon  sic  imJulsit  nobilissimus 

FINCHIUS, 

Quit!  ipsl  qua-  incumhercnt  solcrtcr  gcsscrit 

confcieritq.  ncgotia. 

El  postquani  ad  Ainici  pollincturani  qua-  spcctarent 

curavcrat 

Visccraq.  tclliiri  B)zantlna;,  addito  marniorc  cleganter 

a  se  pieq.  inscripto,  commiscrat 

Cunctasq.  res  suas  scdulo  paraverat  ad  rcdituni  in 

optatani  Patriam, 

Corpus  ctiam  deluncti  Amici  a  Constantinopoll  usq. 

(Triste  sed  plum  officium)  per  longos  Maris  tractus 

Novam  subinde  salo  c  lacrvniis  siiis  admiscens  salscdineni 

ad  saccllum  hoc  dcduxit. 

Ubi  funebri  ipsum  orationc  adhibita  msstisq.  sed 

dulcisonis  Thrcnodijs, 

111  Hypogaeum  tandem  sub  proxima  Area  situm 

commune  utriq.   paratum   hospitium  solcnniter 

honorificcque  condidit. 

Hac  pia  FINCHIUS  officia  defuncto  Amico  prsestitit, 

porroq.  cum  eo,  in  usus  pios 

Quatcr  mille  libras  Anglicanas  huic  Christi  Collegio 

donavit 

Ad  duos  socios  totidemq.  scliolares  in  Collegio  alendos 

Et  ad  augendum  libris  quinquagcnis  reditum 

Magistrl  annuum. 

Cui  rei  ministranda^  riteq.  tinienda:  Londini 

dum  incumberct 

Paucos  post  menses  in  morbum  incidit  Febriq.  ac  Pleuritide 

Maxime  vcro  Amici  BAINESII  dcsiderio  adfectus  et  afBictus 

Inter  lacrymas  luctus  et  amplexus  charissimorum 

diem  obiit 

Speq.  beatas  immortalitatis  plenus  pie  ac  placide  in 

Domino  obdormivit 

Die  XVIII  Novembris  H.  II.  P.  MN.  A.D.  MDCLXXXII.  JEuth  sui  LVI. 

Londinoq.  hue  delatus  ab  illustrissimo  Domino  D.  FINCHIO 

HENEAGII  Comitis  Nottingamicnsis  filio  Primogenito 

Aliisq.  ejus  filiis  ac  Necessariis  comitantibus 

Eodem  in  hoc  scpulchro  quo  ejus  Amicissimus  heic  conditus 

jacet : 

Ut  Studia,  Fortunas,  Consilia,  inimo  Animas  vivi  qui 

miscucrant 
lidem  suos  dctuncti  sacros  tandem  miscerent  cineres. 


CHAPTER   XI 

FINCH'S  DEATH,   BURIAL  AND  WILL 

Finch  stayed  at  this  time  with  his  brother  Heneage  in  London  at  "Queen- 
streete  Howse"  in  Lincoln's  Inn  Fields,  and  here  the  last  codicil  to  his  will  was 
written  "October  the  last  1682."  He  did  not  for  long  survive  the  death  of 
"T.B.,"  but  died  of  pleurisy,  i8th  November,  1682. 

The  very  next  Audit  in  the  book,  referred  to  above,  reads  "charges  at 
Trumpington  when  the  coaches  met  Sir  John  Finch  his  corps,"  for  the  body  was 
taken  to  Christ's  College  and  buried  with  that  of  Baines  as  they  had  both  so 
earnestly  desired.  A  monument  by  Joseph  Catterns  of  London  was  erected 
in  the  Chapel  to  the  memory  of  Finch  and  Baines  and  stands  between  the 
organ  chamber  and  the  altar.  The  expenses  were  met  by  Daniel  the  second 
Earl  of  Nottingham  and  the  monument  was  not  completed  before  1684.  The 
pedestals  bear  a  bust  of  Sir  John  Finch  and  Sir  Thomas  Baines  and  there  is  a 
long  inscription  (which  is  here  reproduced,  Plate  VIII)  composed  by  Henry 
More,  who  outlived  his  pupils  by  some  years.  The  bodies  are  buried  in  front 
of  the  tomb  and  within  the  altar  rails. 

Finch  and  Baines  have  been  further  remembered  at  Christ's  College.  In 
1882  they  were  among  those  chosen  as  "glass  worthies"  for  two  of  the  twenty-one 
lights  of  the  west  oriel  window  in  the  Hall,  depicting  the  founders,  benefactors 
and  worthies  of  the  College.  The  arms  of  Finch  and  Baines  are  correctly  repre- 
sented also. 

Daniel  Finch  second  Earl  of  Nottingham  must  have  transferred  Finch's 
pictures,  books  and  papers  to  Burley-on-the-Hill  when  that  house  was  com- 
pleted about  1700.  Besides  the  letters,  note-books  and  pictures  already  de- 
scribed, a  member  of  the  Finch  family  has  told  me  that  there  were  a  large  number 
of  anatomical  and  other  medical  and  classical  books,  on  the  shelves  of  the  "Long 
Library,"  which  had  belonged  to  Sir  John  Finch.  No  doubt  some  of  these 
corresponded  with  those  in  the  long  list  of  books  and  MSS.  which  is  to  be  found 
in  one  of  Finch's  note-books.  Finch  and  Baines  possessed  a  very  good  collection 
of  medical  books  in  Latin,  Italian,  Spanish  and  French.  Harvey's  book  on 
the  circulation  of  the  blood  is  found  wanting,  but  Finch  had  "  Riolanus  de  Motu 
Sanguinis"  "Vesali',  Anatomia,  Basileac  1543,"  and  books  by  "Jul.  Caes.  Arant." 


8o  FINCH'S   DEATH,    BURIAL  AND   WILL  [ch. 

and  by  Fabricius  ab  Aquapendente.  Amongst  the  English  books  Shakespeare 
is  conspicuous  by  his  absence.  Boyle  is  represented  by  his  Experimejits,  Essayes, 
and  Scepticall  Chymist,  and  Bacon  by  Natural  History,  Opuscula  and  On  Winds. 
Quite  properly  we  find  Moore's  Philosophy  and  "Sir  K.  Digby  of  Plants."  They 
also  had  "Mr  Evelyn's  Sculpture''''  and  "Charleton's  Oeconomia,"  and  for 
recreation  The  Game  of  Chesse  Play.  Unfortunately  all  these  volumes  were 
lost  in  a  fire  about  ten  years  ago,  but  the  letters,  portraits  and  an  official  copy 
of  the  will  were  saved.  The  copy  of  the  will  still  hangs  in  the  East  passage 
of  the  house  and  a  photograph  of  it  is  reproduced  (Plate  IX).  It  is  headed  "On 
Board  the  Oxford  January  the  24th  168 1-2,"  when  Finch  was  bringing  home 
Baines'  body.  It  is  very  well  illuminated  in  red  and  bears  Finch's  arms  (Arg. 
a  chevron  bet.  3  gryphons  passant  sa.)  quartering  the  arms  of  Fitzherbert  with 
a  crescent  for  cadency,  a  knight's  helmet  above  with  crest  (a  gryphon  passant 
sa.)  and  mantling.     The  family  of  Finch  was  descended  from  the  Fitzherberts. 

IT  HAVEING  PLEASED  GOD  to  reduce  me  to  extreame  weaknesse  of  body  blessed 
bee  his  Name,  he  has  continued  mee  in  perfect  soundnes  of  reason  and  Judgment  I  hold  it 
necessary  as  a  Christian  not  to  leave  my  last  Will  and  Testament  to  be  made  when  it  shall 
please  God  I  shall  draw  towards  my  Departure.  But  beseeching  the  most  merciful  God 
who  hateth  nothing  that  he  hath  made  through  his  mercy  to  purifye  and  wash  mee  from 
all  my  sinns  through  the  blood  of  Attonement  of  Lord  Jesus  through  whose  Meritts  alone 
I  hope  to  be  saved  I  render  my  Soule  into  the  hands  of  the  Greate  and  mercifull  God  Creatour 
of  all  things  And  my  Body  I  commit  to  the  Earth  hopeing  for  a  Joyfull  Resurrection  to  be 
dispos'd  of  as  follow's  As  also  my  Estate  reall  and  personall  according  to  such  appointm*.  as 
hereafter  I  have  made  in  this  my  last  WILL. 

IN  THE  FIRST  PLACE  I  'doe  make  and  constitute  my  Deare  and  honur'd  Brother 
HENEAGE  LORD  FINCH  EARLE  OF  NOTTINGHAM  LORD  HIGH  CHANCELLOUR 
OF  ENGLAND  my  soule  Executor  Administratour  and  Assigne  as  the  Law  has  constituted 
him  my  sole  and  proper  Heire,  Giveing  and  bequesthing  unto  him  all  my  Estate  reall  and 
personall  Except  such  part  of  it  as  shall  by  mee  be  dispos'd  of  in  this  my  last  Will  and  Testa- 
ment Beseeching  Almighty  God  to  give  him  soe  many  Joy's  and  Comforts  in  this  World  that 
Hee  may  not  have  misse  of  or  Sorrow  for  the  losse  of  a  Brother  that  so  dearly  and  intirely 
loved  him. 

The  Two  Thousand  pound  I  mentioned  in  a  former  Codicill  to  be  added  to  Two  Thousand 
more  that  Sir  Thomas  Baines  has  left  and  layd  out  as  your  LoP  my  Executour  shall  thinke 
most  advantagiously  for  the  erecting  Two  Fellowshipps  and  Two  Scollarshipps  in  Sir  Thomas 
Baines  his  Name  and  Mine  as  also  the  applying  of  Fifty  Pound  per  annum  to  the  encrease 
of  the  Mastershipp  of  Christ  College  in  Cambridge  I  doe  ratify  and  confirm  as  also  I  doe 
appoint  the  paying  to  a  farthing  all  the  legacy's  mentioned  in  Sir  Thomas  Baines  his  last 
Will  to  his  Brothers  Neeces  and  friends  therein  mention'd,  desireing  you  to  take  notice  that 
all  the  legacy's  mention'd  to  be  paid  in  Dollars  are  already  by  mee  fully  satisfy'd. 

To  my  Nephew  Charles  Finch  Fellow  of  All  Soules  Colledge  in  Oxford  and  to  his  Heires 
forever  I  doe  give  my  Manor  of  Herald  near  Ipswich  as  an  Evidence  of  the  affection  I  have 
for  him  both  as  an  Uncle  and  a  Godfather. 

To  my  Nephew  Edward  Finch  Fellow  of  Christ  Colledge  in  Cambridge  and  his  Heirs 
I  doe  give  my  Parsonage  of  Ashford  in  County  of  Kent  Beseeching  God  prosper  him  in  all 
his  Study's  and  Erect  them  to  his  Glory. 

To  my  most  Deare  Nephew  Daniel  Lord  Finch  I  give  that  Diamond  Ring  which  is 
wound  around  with  black  thread  or  else  such  other  as  hee  shall  please  of  the  whole  number 


xi]  FINCH'S  DEATH,   BURIAL  AND  WILL  8i 

of  Rings  leaving  it  to  your  owne  Inclination  to  give  whatsoever  of  my  Estate  Reall  and 
Personall  I  have  bequeth's  unto  you  as  you  thinke  fitt. 

To  my  honour'd  Neece  My  Lady  Essex  Finch  I  give  and  bequeth  as  a  Testimony  of  my 
Respect  such  of  the  Saphire  Rings  as  she  shall  be  pleased  to  accept  of,  To  my  Deare  Neece 
My  Lady  Mary  Finch  I  give  a  payr  of  Diamond  Braceletts  that  are  made  up  onely  of 
Dymonds  and  are  worked  something  in  the  Fashion  of  snakes  bones. 

To  my  most  dear  and  ever  honour'd  Lord  Edward  Conway  one  of  his  Maj'v's  Principall 
Secretary'  of  State  I  give  and  bequeth  a  Fascette  Diamond  of  about  Four  Caratts  in  circe 
which  accompany's  another  of  the  same  bigness  that  w^as  belonging  to  Sir  Thomas,  Beseeching 
God  to  prosper  him  in  all  his  concern's.  To  my  Dear  and  honour'd  Tutor  and  Friend 
Dr  Henry  Moor  I  give  Fifty  Pounds  to  layd  out  in  what  hee  likes  best  as  a  Memorial  of  my 
affection  towards  him. 

To  my  Secretary  William  Carpenter  in  consideration  of  his  faithfull  Service  I  give  the 
Summe  of  Three  Hundred  Pound  Sterl-.  intreating  your  LoP:  my  Executour  for  my  sake  to 
keepe  him  in  )-our  good  Grace  and  Favour  and  advance  him  to  such  Charge  as  You  find  him 
most  capable  of,  To  Zacchar  a  faithfull  Armenian  Servant  to  Sir  Thomas  Baines  I  give  the 
summe  of  Three  Score  Pounds  sterling  desiring  your  Lop  :  for  both  our  Sakes  that  are  deceas'd 
not  to  lett  him  a  lively  hood  in  England  hee  being  soe  warmly  recommended  to  Mee  to 
provide  for  by  Sir  Thomas. 

My  Body  I  have  order'd  if  I  dye  at  Sea  to  be  embalm'd  and  putt  into  the  same  chest  with 
that  Sir  Thomas  Baines  his  Corps  upon  the  consignment  of  which  and  such  other  goods  as 
laden  on  board  the  Oxford  of  mine  unto  you  or  your  Heire  I  doe  order  that  one  Hunder'd 
and  Twenty  Pound  Sterling  be  presented  to  Captain  Christopher  Mason  the  Commander 
of  that  his  Ma'v's  Shipp,  I  doe  bequeth  Thirty  Pound  to  be  bestow'd  amongst  the  Officers 
and  Company  of  the  said  Shipp,  I  doe  Hkewise  desire  your  LoP  :  my  dear  Brother  and  Execu- 
tour to  cause  my  Body  to  be  putt  in  one  common  Chest  together  with  that  Sir  Thomas  Baines 
his  Corps  and  to  be  interr'd  according  to  our  Discretion  in  the  Chapell  of  Christ  Colledge  Cam- 
bridge. I  doe  Hkewise  order  that  Ten  Pound  Sterl:  be  given  unto  the  Poor  of  Parish  of 
St  Andrew's  in  which  Christ  Colledge  Lyeth  and  is  scituated  to  be  distributed  in  such  Manner 
and  forme  as  the  Master  and  Fellows  of  Christ  Colledge  shall  appoint. 

And  so  my  Dear  and  Honour'd  Brother  I  give  you  my  last  Farewell  Beseeching  Almighty 
God  the  Creatour  of  all  things  through  the  Death  and  Attonement  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  to  give  Us  a  joyfull  Resurrection  together  in  the  last  Day,  where  all  Tears  shall  be 
wiped  away  from  our  Eyes  through  the  Meritts  of  Jesus  Christ  whose  Sorrow's  purchased 
our  Eternall  Joyes  as  I  hope  and  beheve.  GIVEN  Under  my  hand  this  twentyfourth  of 
January  1 68 1-2  Aboard  the  Oxford  which  being  past  Cephalonia  is  now  under  Sajl  for 
Messina  whither  God  in  Mercy  send  mee  safe  if  it  be  his  Blessed  Will.  That  I  may  once  more 
see  your  face  the  greatest  Comfort  this  World  could  afford  mee  JOHN  FINCH  Sign'd  and 
publish'd  in  the  presence  of  WILLIAM  CARPENTER,  the  mark  of  Zachariah  Sedgwick; 

...PERA  SEPTEMBER  g-igth  i68i...My  most  Dear  Brother  and  most  honour'd  Lord 
It  pleased  Almighty  God  to  take  Sir  Thomas  Baines  to  himselfe  I  haveing  receiv'd  his  last 
Breath  Monday  the  Fifth  of  September  at  three  of  the  Clocke  in  the  afternoon  and  since 
the  good  hand  of  God  hath  laid  correction  on  mee  besides  the  irreparable  losse  of  Sir  Thomas 
Baines  by  sending  mee  a  double  Tertian  accompany'd  with  malignity.  I  have  much  reason 
to  feare  I  shall  never  see  your  face  and  therefore  according  to  my  promise  made  to  Sir  Thomas 
Baines  I  by  this  Codicill  to  my  Will  made  June  the  second  1673  Doe  order  and  appoint  that  Tvvo 
Thousand  pounds  sterling  out  of  my  Estate  bee  added  to  Two  Thousand  pounds  out  of  Sir 
Thomas  his  Estate  and  the  whole  Four  Thousand  pounds  Sterling  be  so  layd  out  for  the 
sole  use  and  advantage  of  the  Master  and  Fellow's  of  Christ.  My  Intentions  were  to  buy 
lands  and  encrease  the  Mastershipp  50^^  per  annum  and  erect  two  Fellowshipps  of  60  pounds 
per  annum  each  and  tvvo  Scollarshipps  of  Tenn  pounds  each  per  annum,  but  your  Lop^ 
Prudence  Act  by  Advice  with  the  Master  and  Fellows  if  I  see  you  noe  more  as  you  please. 

Sir  Thomas  and  I  desire  to  be  bury'd  in  Christ  Coll' :   Chappell  and  Hee  is  embalmed 

M.  11 


82  FINCH'S   DEATH,   BURIAL  AND   WILL  [ch.  xi 

to  that  end  and  I  have  order'd  my  embalming  also  in  case  I  rise  not  from  my  Bed  of  Sick- 
nesse  For  the  Mercy  of  God  cause  both  these  our  Codicills  to  bee  putt  in  Execution  JOHN 
FINCH  Signed  and  published  in  the  presence  of  us  William  Carpenter,  The  marcke  of 
Zachariah  Sedgwick. 

I  SIR  JOHN  FINCH  KNT  haveing  already  made  my  Will  and  haveing  there  dispos'd 
of  my  Estate  according  to  my  entire  satisfaction  Doe  upon  a  second  perusall  ratifye  and 
agree  with  every  part  of  it  Unlesse  in  the  particulars  following  First  I  appoint  my  Manner 
of  Herald  in  the  County  of  Suffolke  to  be  given  wholly  and  solely  unto  my  Dear  Godson 
Charles  Finch  Fellow  of  All  Soules  in  Oxford  and  his  Heirs  for  ever  Secondly  To  my  Nepew 
Robert  Finch  I  give  all  the  Right  Title  and  Profitts  that  may  arise  from  my  Parsonage  in 
the  County  of  Kent,  Thirdly  In  regard  that  the  paines  of  my  Secretary  William  Carpenter  in 
soe  many  years  haveing  been  very  great  and  being  perform'd  in  Barbarous  Country's  very 
dangerous  also  I  doe  desire  that  he  may  receive  the  summe  of  Three  hundred  pounds  Sterling 
as  a  reward  on  my  part  in  some  measure  to  his  Labours  and  because  Zaccar  the  Armenian 
Servant  ought  to  be  requited  I  doe  order  him  One  hunder'd  pounds  Sterling  Beseeching  your 
good  LoP :  my  deare  Brother  to  cause  these  Summes  forthwith  be  paid  and  to  take  them 
both  into  your  Lop's;  particular  Care  and  Protection  being  beyond  all  the  money  I  have  left 
them:  Queenstreete  Howse  October  the  last  1682  JOHN  FINCH. ..Signed  and  publish'd 
in  the  presence  of  us  WILLIAM  CARPENTER,  The  marke  of  ZACHARIAH  SEDGWICK. 


APPENDIX 

THE  "TABULAE  HARVEIANAE" 

Just  before  returning  to  France  in  May,  1916,  I  was  lucky  enough  to  find 
the  Italian  letter  (p.  36)  from  Sir  John  Finch,  in  which  he  mentions  the  "Tavole," 
and  it  occurred  to  me  that  the  anatomical  tables,  traditionally  described  as 
Harvey's  (p.  7),  should  perhaps  be  attributed  to  Finch.  I  puzzled  much  over  this 
question  and  early  in  August  wrote  to  the  Librarian  of  the  Royal  College  of 
Physicians  to  learn  all  that  was  definitely  known  about  these  six  anatomical 
tables.  I  was  much  interested  in  reading  the  Harveian  Oration  (see  British 
Medical  Journal,  28th  October,  1916)  to  see  that  Sir  Thomas  Barlow,  Bt.,  had 
arrived  at  a  similar  conclusion  as  to  the  provenance  of  the  "tabulae,"  although 
by  a  different  method  of  reasoning.  I  am  indebted  to  Sir  Thomas  Barlow  for 
some  further  notes  on  the  question  and  these  I  have  put  together  with  my  own. 

There  is  no  writing  with  the  specimens  nor  marks  on  them  to  prove  that 
they  belonged  to  Harvey,  but  in  presenting  them  to  the  College  in  1823  the 
Earl  of  Winchilsea  said :  "  I  have  in  my  possession  some  anatomical  preparations 
which  belonged  to  the  late  Dr  Harvey."  This  was  quite  a  natural  mistake 
for  Winchilsea  to  make,  as  Harvey's  connection  by  marriage  with  the  Finch 
family  was  well  known  to  him,  and  even  to  this  day  the  family  have  remembered 
Sir  John  Finch  chiefly  for  his  diplomatic  career,  losing  sight  of  the  fact  that  he 
was  also  a  student  of  natural  science  and  professor  of  anatomy.  Let  us  suppose 
that  the  Tables  did  belong  to  Harvey.  Why  then  did  he  leave  such  valuable 
specimens  to  the  Finch  family  and  not  directly  to  the  College  which  was  his 
constant  interest  during  his  Hfetimc  and  to  which  he  made  such  liberal  gifts  ? 
The  Tables  are  not  even  mentioned  in  his  will.  Sir  John  Finch  left  England  in 
165 1  to  study  medicine  in  Italy  and  did  not  return  till  1660,  three  years  after 
Harvey's  death,  and  it  seems  most  unHkely  that  Harvey  left  such  specimens  to 
one  who  was  so  far  away  from  him  and  yet  made  no  entry  of  such  a  bequest  in 
his  will.  Nor  is  it  hkely  that  Harvey  left  the  "  tabulae"  to  a  member  of  the  laity 
such  as  his  niece  EUzabeth  (Sir  John  Finch's  sister-in-law)  or  to  another  non- 
medical member  of  the  Finch  family. 

It  has  been  stated  that  Harvey  made  use  of  these  "tabulae"  at  his  lectures, 
but  I  am  assured  that  he  makes  no  mention  of  them  in  his  Pradectiones.    Besides, 

II — 2 


84  APPENDIX 

Evelyn  tells  us  in  his  Diary  that  he  (Evelyn)  procured  certain  tables  of  anatomical 
specimens  from  Veslingius'  assistant  at  Padua,  and  these  Sir  Charles  Scarborough 
(intimate  friend  of  Harvey  and  his  successor  as  Lumleian  Lecturer)  thought 
unique  throughout  the  world  and  borrowed  for  his  own  lectures. 

Nov.  5th  1652.  Dr  Scarborough  was  instant  with  me  to  give  the  Tables  of  Veins  and 
Arteries  to  the  Colledge  of  Physitians,  pretending  he  would  not  onely  reade  upon  them,  but 
celebrate  my  curiositie  as  being  the  first  who  caus'd  them  to  be  compleated  in  that  manner, 
and  with  that  cost ;  but  I  was  not  so  willing  yet  to  part  with  them,  as  to  lend  them  to  the 
Colledge  during  their  anatomical  lectures,  which  I  did  accordingly. 

Now  had  Harvey  used  such  "tables"  Scarborough  would  scarcely  have  considered 
them  such  rarities.  As  Sir  Thomas  Barlow  says  in  a  letter  to  me,  "the  conclusion 
from  this  that  Harvey  had  no  such  tables  at  his  lectures  is,  I  think,  morally 
certain."  Evelyn  gave  his  specimens,  not  to  the  College  as  Scarborough  suggested, 
but  to  the  Royal  Society  and  at  present  they  are  in  the  Museum  of  the  Royal 
College  of  Surgeons. 

Thus  I  think  it  is  most  highly  improbable  that  Dr  Harvey  ever  had  such 
specimens,  and  still  more  so  that  they  were  taken  to  Burley-on-the-Hill  forty- 
three  years  after  his  death,  when  the  present  house  was  built  in  1700.  On  the 
other  hand,  Sir  John  Finch  must  have  been  quite  familiar  with  like  anatomical 
preparations  even  when  he  studied  anatomy  at  Padua  and,  after  having  been 
professor  of  anatomy  at  Pisa  for  some  years,  he  makes  his  trip  to  Holland 
with  the  express  purpose  of  investigating  the  method  of  preserving  bodies  and 
writes  to  his  patron.  Prince  Leopold  (pp.  35  and  36),  comparing  those  he  saw 
there  with  their  own  at  Florence.  Further,  we  know  that  some  years  after  the 
death  of  Sir  John  Finch,  his  favourite  nephew  Daniel  took  with  him  to  Burley 
his  uncle's  belongings  even  down  to  the  most  insignificant  papers.  The  Earl 
of  Nottingham's  inventory  of  these  things  existed  a  few  years  ago,  but  at  the 
moment  I  am  unable  to  trace  it. 

We  know  definitely,  then,  that  Finch  had  anatomical  tables  and  we  know 
that,  more  than  one  hundred  years  after  his  personal  property  was  taken  to 
Burley-on-the-Hill,  such  a  collection  was  found  there.  It  is  not  known  that 
Harvey  possessed  these  "tabulae"  and  I  have  shown  that  such  a  possibility  is 
most  unlikely. 


INDEX 


Academy  of  Sciences,  Paris,  22 
Accademia  del  Cimento,  22  et  seq.,  28 
Adrianople,  60,  62 
Algiers,  45,  46 
AUen,  S.,  33 

Sir  Thomas,  71 

Altios,  72 
Ambassadors,  58 
America,  56  et  seq. 

Anatomy,  15,  16,   19,  23,  26,  36,  41  note,  42,  65 

Andrich,  5,   18 

Anne,  Queen  of  Great  Britain,  67 

Aqueducts  of  Solyman,  62 

Aquinas,  tomb  of,   11 

Arabia,  62 

Arantius,  Julius  Caesar,  79 

Aristotle,  53,  75,  76 

Arlington,  Earl  of,  45,  54  et  seq.,  56,  59 

Aselli,  23 

Ashford,  Parsonage  of,  80,  82 

Ashley,  Lord,  54  et  seq. 

Ashmole,  EHas,  32 

Astrology,  2,  66  et  seq. 

Auberius,  23 

Aubriet,  Claudio,  23 

Austin,  78 

Samuel,  70 

Backwell,  Alderman,  39 
Bacon,  80 
Haines,  Francis,  i 

Richard,   i 

Sir  Thomas,  birth  of,  i ;    at  school  at  Stortford, 

I ;  takes  degrees  at  Cambridge,  1 ;  poem  of,  in 
praise  of  Molinetti,  13  et  seq.;  devotion  to 
Sir  John  Finch,  17;  arms  of,  19;  goes  to  Pisa, 
22;  suffered  from  paralysis  agitans,  24;  ap- 
pointed professor  of  music  at  Gresham  College, 
30;  advice  to  Daniel  Finch,  33;  counsels  Sir 
John  Finch  as  to  marriage,  33;  allowed  to  leave 
Gresham  College,  39,  61;  philosophy  of,  43; 
not  knighted  until  1673,  44,  57;  trip  with 
Daniel  Finch,  49;  sends  presents  to  Anne 
Viscountess  Conway,  50;  suffers  from  stone, 
and  ill-health  of,  51,  56,  57,  75;  not  appointed 
a  Commissioner  to  New  England,  56;  letter  to 
Anne  Viscountess  Conway,  57;  the  physician, 
66;  skilful  in  argument,  68;  denounces  coffee- 
houses, extravagance,  and  luxury,  69;  jokes 
about  Henry  More  in  a  letter,  70;  successor  of, 
at  Gresham  College,  70;  death  of,  71 ;  Sir  John 
Finch's  epitaph  over  bowels  of,  74  et  seq.; 
burial  of,  77 ;  bequests  of,  80  et  seq. ;  see  also 
Finch  and  Baines 


Baldinucci,  Filippo,  quoted  52 

Balliol  College,  2 

Barbarino,  Cardinal,  50 

Barbary,  46 

Bargrave,  John,   17 

Barlow,  Sir  Thomas,  Bt,  83  et  seq. 

Barnard,  Charles,  66  et  seq. 

Francis,  2,  66  et  seq. 

Samuel,  67 

Bate,  George,  M.D.,  32 
Bellini,  Lorenzo,  23 
Benedictines,  the,  25 
Bezar,  lapis,  6  note 

Bilsius,  or  Bils,  Louis  De,  35  note 

Bilzio,  35 

Bologna,  1 1 

Bonfighuoli,  Silvestro,  23 

Borelli,  22,  24,  41 

Bossuet,  69 

Boyle,  the  family  of,  52 

the  Honourable  Robert,  quoted  34  et  seq. ;   works 

of,  80 

Roger  Broghill,  eldest  son  of  the  first  Earl  of 

Orrery,  50 

Bridgewater  Gallery,  21 
Broghill,  50,  52 
Broghim  (?),  John,  52 
Bromley,  Thomas,  64 
Brown,  Edward,  71 

Henry,  24,  37,  68 

Browne,  Edward,   19 

Sir  Thomas,   19 

Buckingham,  George  \'illiers,  second  Duke  of,  32 

Burleigh  House,  Stamford,  53 

Burley-on-the-Hill,  Rutland,  formerly  scat  of  Earls  of 
Winchilsca  and  Nottingham,  i:  fire  at,  7,  80; 
"tabulae  Harvcianae  "  at,  7,  83,  84;  portraits  of 
Finch  and  Baines  at,  20,  5 1  et  seq. ;  note-books, 
letters,  and  papers  of  Finch  and  Baines  at,  27,  32, 
40,53,61,67,68;  present  house  built  about  1700, 
5 1 ,  79,  84 ;  family  register  in  folio  prayer-book  at, 
66;  library  of  Finch  and  Baines  formerly  at,  79 

Butler,   1 1 

Calais,  77 
Calvin,  John,  7,  8 

Cambridge,  i,  11,  34,  39,  4S,  63,  74,  77;  see  also  Christ's 
College 

Platonists,   i,  4,  48 

Candia,  61 

Capuchin  Friars,  68 

Carpenter,  William,  60,  71,  81  el  seq. 

Carr,  Doctor,  31 

Carthusians,  the,  6 

"—3 


86 


INDEX 


Cartwright,  William,  poems  of,  4 

Catharine  of  Braganza,  Queen  Consort,  paintings  pre- 
sented to,  by  Sir  John  Finch,  52 

Centurion,  the,  voyage  of,  58 

Chalon,  Notre  Dame  of,  6 

Chandois,  Lord,  succeeds  Sir  John  Finch  at  Constanti- 
nople, 70 

Charles  I,  69 

II,    30  rt  seq.,   34,  44,   47,   49,   54,   56,    57,   74; 

painting  presented  to,  by  Sir  John  Finch,  52 

Charleton,  Doctor,  73,  80 

Charterhouse,  67 

Chemistry,  41 

Chester,  33 

Chillingworth,  Mr,  68 

Chimacam,  the,  61 

Chimentelli,  Valerio,  26 

Chinese,  missionaries  to  the,  68 

Christ,  pictures  of,  51,  53 

Christianity,  48,  49 

Christ's  College,  i,  31,  39,  62;  Finch  and  Bainos  meet 
at,  3 ;  Finch  and  Baines  visit  Henry  More  ai, 
56;  Ufe  of  Finch  and  Baines  at,  referred  to,  74; 
burial  of  Baines  at,  77;  decorated  for  visit  of 
Finch,  Finch  and  Baines  Fellowship  at,  i,  78, 
80  et  seq. ;  burial  of  Finch  at,  and  monuments 
to  Finch  and  Baines  at,  79 

Civil  War,  the,  2 

Clarendon,  Edward  Hyde,  Earl  of,  31 

Clark,  Sir  Andrew,  44 

Rev.  Andrew,  2 

Clement  IX,  50,  55 
Clever,  70 

Clifford,  Robert,  25 

Sir  Thomas,  25 

Coflee,  receipt  for,  69 
Collins,  Richard,   18 

Constantinople,  37,  38,  45,  54,  56,  57,  59,  70,  77;     Sir 

John  Finch  at,  61  et  seq. ;    epitaph  over  bowels 

of  Sir  Thomas  Baines  at,  74 
Conway,  Edward  Viscount,  afterwards  Earl  of,  5,  10, 

3°,  45i  5°i  5+1  58;  59,  (>h  64,  7°i  Si;    becomes 

Secretary  of  State,  69 

Aiuie   Viscountess,   3,  5,  6,  7,  9,  10,  34,  49,  62; 

letters  from  Henry  More,  15,  43,  44,  48,  56; 
portrait  by  S.  Van  Hoogstraaten  of  (?),  21; 
poems  addressed  to,  48 ;  letters  to  Henry  More, 
39;  ill-health  of,  7,  10,  11,  50,  59,  63,  65;  turns 
Quaker,  63  et  seq. ;   death  of,  63 

Cooper,  Joseph,  64 

Comelio,  Tommaso,  41 

Cosimo  III,  Grand  Duke  of  Tuscany,  64,  75 

Covel,  John,  later  Master  of  Christ's  College,  62,  63,  68,  70 

Cranmcr,  Mr,  72 

Crellius,  43 

Croker,  Hon.  John  Wilson,  1 5 

Croome,  William,  M.D.,  32 

Crossley,  James,  39  note,  48 

Cudworth,  Ralph,  Master  of  Christ's  College,  78 

Cust,  Lionel,  21,  52  «  seq. 

Cypher  letters,  38,  45,  51,  54  rt  seq. 

Cyprus,  62 

Danby,  Earl  of,  70;   see  niso  Osburn,  Sir  Thomas 
Darwin,  Sir  George,  18 


David  with  Goliath's  Head,  52 

Decumbitures,  Francis  Barnard's  book  of,  66 

De  Hooche,  Peter,  21 

Derham,  72 

Descartes,   13,  41,  43,  68 

Digby,  Sir  Kcnelm,  5,  7,  11,32;  "powder  of  sympathy" 

of,  28 ;  works  of,  80 
Dispensary,  Garth's,  67 
Dod,  Henry  (?),  70 
Dolci,  Carlo,  51  el  seq.,  77 
Donne,  quoted  63 
Dover,  59 
Dresden,  52 
Dryden,  Jolm,  32 
Dunkirk,  sale  of,  39 

Elboeuf,  Duchess  of,  70 

England,  trade  relations  of,  46,  62 

Euclid,  53 

Eugenics,  65 

Evelyn,  John,  32,  84;  works  of,  80 

Exeter,  Marquis  of,  53 

Fabricius,  ab  Aquapendente,   13,   15,  80 

Fabroni,  quoted  22,  24 

Fallopius,   13 

Fava,  Doctor,  52;    see  also  Baines,  Sir  Thomas 

Fellowships  of  Finch  and  Baines  at  Christ's  College,  78, 

80  et  seq. 
Ferdinand   II,   Grand   Duke   of  Tuscany,   26,   32,   34, 

35   note,    40,    41,    45,   46,    50,   53,  64,   74,   75; 

patron  of  science,  22  <;(  seq.;    death  of,  55 
Finch,  Anne  Viscountess  Conway,' 3;   see  Conway 

Colonel  Charles,  42 

Charles,  80,  82 

Daniel,  later  second  Earl  of  Nottingham  and 

sixth  Earl  of  Winchilsea,  32,  33,  44,  59,  70,  77, 
78,  79,  80,  84;  goes  to  Italy,  46;  builds  pre- 
sent house  at  Burley-on-the-Hill,  51,  79,  84; 
marriage  of,  57;    children  of,  66 

Edward,  80 

Lady  Ehzabeth,  7,  47,  66,  S3 

Lady  Essex,  57,  66,  81 

Francis,  2,  4,  5,  7 

— —  Sir  Heneage,  Recorder  of  the  City  of  London, 

I,  2,  3 

Heneage,     second     Earl     of    Winchilsea  ;      see 

Winchilsea 

Heneage,  Lord  Chancellor,  afterwards  first  Ear! 

of  Nottingham,  i,  3,  7,  32,  33,  43,  44,  47,  51, 
54,  56,  57,  67,  70,  7',  79,  80;  created  Earl  of 
Nottingham,  72 

Sir  John,  birth  of,  2;    educated  at  Eton  and 

Oxford,  2;  horoscope  of,  2;  admitted  to  Inner 
Temple,  2;  Oxford  and  Cambridge  degrees  of, 
3;  book  dedicated  to,  4;  affection  for  his  sister 
Anne  Conway,  6,  20  et  seq.,  59,  63  ;  ill-heahh  of, 
6,  17,  51;  letters  to  Anne  Conway,  6,  12,  50; 
letter  to  Anne  Conway  about  Quakers,  63 ; 
opinion  of  Van  Helmont's  Universal  Medicine, 
10,  II;  refuses  to  be  Consul  of  the  English  nation 
at  Padua  University,  11;  "philosophical  dis- 
courses" of,  12,  13,  73;  ideas  on  plant  physi- 
ology, 12;  criticism  of  Descartes,  13;  his  account 
of  circulation  of  the  blood,  15  et  seq. ;  Pro-Rector 


INDEX 


87 


and  Syndic  of  University  of  Padua,  17;  arms 
of,  18  et  se(j.,  80;  professor  of  anatomy  at  Uni- 
versity of  Pisa,  22,  23,  42;  English  Resident  at 
Florence,  24,  44  ct  seg. ;  acts  as  confessor,  25  ; 
physician  to  Queen  of  England,  26;  epigrams  on, 
26  el  seq. ;  knighted,  30 ;  in  love,  33  et  seq. ; 
interest  in  perception  of  colours,  34  et  seq. ; 
letters  from  Henry  Oldenburgh,  32,  61 ;  his 
house  in  Kensington  later  part  of  Kensington 
Palace,  32,  44;  letters  to  Prince  Leopold  of 
Tuscany,  35  et  seq.,  41  et  seq.:,  anatomical  tables 
of,  36,  83  et  seq. ;  trade  disputes  at  Florence, 
45 ;  praised  by  Winchilsea,  47 ;  letter  to  Anne 
Conway  on  friendship,  49;  questions  of  Italians 
saluting  English  ships,  50  et  seq. ;  presents  paint- 
ings to  Charles  II  and  his  Queen,  52;  buys 
pictures  in  Italy,  52  et  seq.,  77 ;  to  enter  pohtics 
in  England,  54  et  seq. ;  does  not  wish  to  go  to 
Turkey,  55;  on  Council  for  Plantations,  56; 
appointed  ambassador  at  Constantinople,  56, 
61;  chaplain  of,  58;  liberality  of,  58;  to  make 
enquiries  for  Royal  Society,  61  «  seq.;  letter 
from  Prince  Leopold  of  Tuscany,  64;  a  method 
of  making  coffee,  69;  weary  of  Turkey,  70; 
writes  of  death  of  Baines,  71  et  seq.;  epitaph 
over  Baines'  bowels  written  by,  74  et  seq. ;  return 
to  England  with  Baines'  body,  77;  death  of, 
and  burial  at  Christ's  College,  79;  will  of, 
80  et  seq. ;  see  also  Finch  and  Baines 
Finch,  and  Baines,  portraits  of,  1,  20  et  seq.,  51  et  seq.; 
note-books  of,  i,  zj  et  seq.,  53,  67,  72;  Fellows 
of  the  Royal  Society,  i,  32;  Fellows  of  the  Royal 
College  of  Physicians,  1,  30;  benefactors  of 
Christ's  College,  i,  78,  80  et  seq. ;  pupils  of  Henry 
More,  3 ;  meet  at  Christ's  College,  3 ;  poems 
and  songs  of,  4,  47;  set  out  for  France,  5; 
arrival  in  Padua,  lo ;  trip  to  Milan  and  Bologna, 
II;  supersritions  of,  11,  28,  72;  praised  by 
Bargrave,  17;  wreaths  and  monuments  to,  at 
Padua,  18  et  seq.;  take  medical  degree  at  Padua, 
19;  send  dogs  to  Anne  Conway,  19  et  seq.; 
studies  and  experiments  in  physiology,  chemis- 
try, and  pharmacology,  24,  27,  28  et  seq.,  41,  60; 
return  to  England,  30,  56;  receive  degree  of 
M.D.  at  Cambridge,  31;  visit  to  Holland,  34  t( 
seq. ;  poor  correspondents,  37,  40,  43 ;  return  to 
Florence,  39 ;  visit  Rome  and  Naples,  40  et  seq. ; 
library  of,  41,  58,  77,  79;  interest  in  serpents, 
41  et  seq. ;  Daniel  Finch  under  care  of,  46  et  seq. ; 
visit  Henry  More,  56;  voyage  to  Turkey,  58  rt 
seq.;  life  in  Turkey,  58,  67,  70;  investigate 
method  of  staunching  blood,  59  et  seq. ;  visit 
Malta,  60;  interest  in  religion  and  theology,  62, 
68 ;  trip  to  Adrianople  in  interest  of  trade, 
62  et  seq. ;  advise  Conway  to  marry  again,  65 ; 
letter  about  wills  of,  71 ;  dedication  of  Finch  to 
Baines,  73  et  seq. ;  Fellowship  of,  at  Christ's 
College,  78;   tomb  of,  and  epitaph,  79 

Lady  Mary,  81 

Sir  Moyle,  49 

Pearl,  51 

Finch-Hatton,  George  William,  tenth  Earl  of  Winchilsea ; 

see  Wincliilsea 
Finckio,  Giovanni,  23;   see  also  Finch,  Sir  John 
Fitzherbcrt,  arms  and  family  of,  80 


Florence,  46,  57,  59,  77,  84 

Archbishop  of,  51 

Forbes,  Tommaso,  28;   see  also  Baines,  Sir  Thomas 
Foster,  Joseph,  2 
Foxcroft,  George,  48  et  seq. 

Mrs,  48,  56 

Fracassati,  Carlo,  23,  26,  27,  65 
France,  5  et  seq.,  39,  59,  74,  77 

Henry  IV,  King  of,  7 

Louis  XIV,  King  of,  59 

Galen,   16 

GaUleo,  23 

Garth,  Samuel,  67 

Gascoigne,  Sir  Bernard,  2;,  44 

Geisufius,  Samuel,   18 

GeU,  Mr,  i,  3 

Geneva,  6,  8,  17,  57 

Genoa,  46,  59 

Geometry,  69 

George  IV,  52 

Glanvllle,  Joseph,  4 

Gorges,  Ferdinand,  57 

Gostlin,  John,  31 

Gran  Signer,  the,  Mahomet  IV,  57  rt  seq.,  61,  67,  74 

Grantham,  34 

Greatrakes,  Valentine,  50 

Greek  Church,  58 

Gresham  College,  32,  44,  61,  71 

Grumbold,  78 

Hague,  Treaty  at  The,  55 
Hartlib,  S.,  31 

Harvey,  Sir  Daniel,  7,  47,  56,  62 
Sir  Eliab,  7,  30,  71 

EHzabeth;   see  Finch,  Lady  Elizabeth 

Mrs,  portrait  of  at  Burley-on-the-Hill,  7 

William,  I,  8,  12,  16,  22,  23,  28,  30,  47,  79;  con- 
nection with  Finch  family  and  portrait  of  at 
Burley-on-the-Hill,  7;  "tabulae  Har\eianac," 
7,  83  et  seq. ;  strange  story  about,  7 ;  will  of,  7 

Henrietta    Anne,     Duchess     of    Orleans — "Madame," 

death  of,  69  et  seq. 
Henry  IV,  King  of  France,  7 
Herald,  Manor  of,  80,  82 
Herodias,  Carlo  Dolci's  painting  of,  52 
Hickman,  Sir  William,  56 
Highmore,  antrum  of,  13 
Hippocrates,  23,  53 
Holland,  34,  46,  84 

"Horoscope"  in  Garth's  Dispetisary,  67 
Hospitals  of  France,  6 
Hubbard,  Captain,  50 
Hunter,  John,  24 
Hyde,  L.,  67 

Imponderabilia  in  medicine,  66 
Ingoldsby,  living  of,  48 
Inner  Temple,  2,  56,  57,  59 
Ipswich,  Manor  of  Herald  at,  80,  82 

James  II,  52 
Janckenius,  Otto,  lo 
Jenkins,  Mr,  72 
Jesuits,  68 


88 


INDEX 


Jesus  College,  48 
Jews,  8,  58,  63,  70,  72 

Keith,  George,  64 
Kensington  Palace,  32,  44 
Knolles,  quoted  61 

Lacteals,  23 

La  Fayette,  Comtesse  de,  69 

Legh,  Mr,  i 

Leghorn  (Livomo),   45,   46,   49,    55,    56,    57,    59,   60, 

63,  77 
Leopold,  Prince  of  Tuscany,  22,  67;  letters  from  Sir  John 

Finch  to,  35  c/  seq.,  41  el  seq.,  84;    letters  from, 

40,  64 
Levant  Company,  62 
Lindisy,  Henry,   18 
Littr^,  69 
Lloyd,  Charles,  64 
London,  Paris  compared  with,  6 
Lorenzinus,  Laurence,  26 
Louis  XIV,  59 
Lumleian  Lectures,  15,  84 

"Madame"    (Henrietta    Anne    Duchess    of    Orleans), 

death  of,  69 
Madras  (Fort  George),  49 
Maestricht,  34  et  seq. 
Mahomet  IV,  61 
Mahommedamsm,  62,  68 
Maidstone,  Lord,  54 
Maine,  57 

Malpighi,  Marcellus,   15,  22,  23,  24 
Malta,  60 

Mary  Magdalene,  Carlo  Dolci's  painting  of,  52 
Mason,  Captain  Christopher,  81 
Massachusetts,  57 
Massereen,  Lord,  33 
Mattias,  Prince  of  Tuscany,  64 
Medecine  et  Medecins,  69 
Medici,  Princes  of,  23,  31 
Medicine,  26,  67 

Melancholy,  the,  of  Sir  John  Finch,  48 
Mercator,  40 
Merchettis,  Domenico  de,  19 

Pietro  de,  19 

Mignet,  Father,  6 
Milan,  1 1 

Molinetti,  4,  13,  17 
MontpeUier,   19 
Montreuil,  59 

Moore,  Norman,  19,  70 

Moray,  Sir  Robert,  32 

More,  Henry,  i,  3,  9,  13,  31,  50,  63,  70,  71,  80,  8l; 
letters  to  Anne  Viscountess  Conway,  15,  34,  43, 
48,  56;  letters  from  Aime  Viscountess  Conway,  39 
note;  his  epitaph  on  tomb  of  Finch  and  Baines,  79 

Moretus,  10 

Morice,  Secretary  of  State,  54 

Morosini,  L.  F.,  70 

Moyen,  Cardinal,  7 

College,  7 

Naples,  49 

Newbury,  battle  of,   2 


New  England,  57 

Newton,  arms  of,  19 

Norris,  2 

North,  life  of,  quoted  63 

Nottingham,  Earls  of;   see  Finch 

Nurse,  W.,  67 

Oldenburgh,  Henry,  32,  61 

Oliva,  27 

O'Ncale,  54 

Oraisons  Funcbres,  69 

Orrery,  Earl  of,  50;  see  also  Boyle 

Osburn,  Sir  Thomas,  57;   see  also  Danby 

Osier,  Sir  William,  Bt,  2,  66  note 

Ottoman  Empire,  61 

Ovid,  70 

Oxford,  2 

Oxford,  the,  77 

Padua,  10,  84;  anatomical  theatre  at,  15;  Pro-Rectors 
and  Syndics  at  University  of,  1 7  et  seq. ;  British 
Syndics  at,  18;  monuments  to  Englishmen  at,  18 

Paris,  5,  6,  59  el  seq. 

Patrizi,  Marchese,  41  el  seg. 

Pears,  Sir  Edwin,  75 

Pecquet,  41 

Peile,  John,  Master  of  Christ's  College,   i  note,  19,  77 

Penn,  William,  64 

Pepys,   15,  quoted  44 

Pera,  75 

Perry,  WilUam,  71 

Peters,  Mr,  77 

Petty,  William,  30,  32 

Pisa,  University  of,  22  et  seq.,  84 

Plague,  the,  35,  63 

Plantations,  Council  for,  56 

Plato,  53,  75  el  seq. 

Platonists,  the  Cambridge,  4,  48 

PHny,  23 

Poland,  61,  67 

Pope,  the;   see  Clement  IX 

Post-mortems,  66,  69 

Potts,  Mr,  3 

Quacks,  50 

Ragley,  in  Warwickshire,  3,  10,  32,  33,  48,  57,  58,  64, 

RavLUiac,  7 

Rawdon,  Sir  George,  50,  66  note 

Red  Sea,  enquiries  as  to,  62 

Redi,  Francesco,  25 

Religion,  the  Maliommedan,  62 

Ricci,  Cardinal  Michel  Angelo,  40  el  seq. 

Rich,  Lady  Essex;   see  Finch,  Lady  Essex 

Riolanus,  de  Motu  Sanguinis,  79 

Rome,  41  et  seq.,  49  f/  seq. 

Rouen,  5 

Royal  College  of  Physicians,   i,  39,  83  et  seq. 

College  of  Surgeons,  museum  of,  84 

Society,   i,  22,  31,  32,  6i  et  seq.,  71 

Rusma,  enquiries  as  to,  62 

Rust,  Dr  George,  4 

Rusthall,  33 

Rutland,  i 


INDEX 


89 


Rycaut,  Paul,  61  note 

Rye,  5 

St  Bartholomew's  Hospital,  67 

St  John,  Order  of,  60 

Scarborough,  Sir  Charles,  84 

Selden,  4  note 

Serpents,  grotto  of,  41  ei  seq. 

Ser\'etus,  Michael,  8 

Severino,  M.  Aurelio,  41 

Seville,  77 

Shakespeare,  80 

Shipley,  A.  E.,  Master  of  Christ's  College,  31,  jinole 

Skene,  Giles,  64 

Smyrna,  60,  63 

Socinians,  the,  43 

Socinus,  8 

Spain,  77 

Stamford,  53 

Steno,  Nicholaus,  23,  26 

Stokeham,  William,  18 

Stortford,  i 

Sybaticus,  17 

Sylvester,  Mr,  school   of,  at  Oxford,  2 

"Tabulae  Haneianae,"  the,  7,  83^1  seq. 
Talbot,  Sir  Gilbert,  28 

Targioni-Tozzetti,  Giovanni,  52,  quoted  25  et  seq.,  42,  64 
Taylor,  Jeremy,  4 
Terenzii,  65 

Thomas  Aquinas,  tomb  of,   1 1 
Timoni,  Emmanuel,   18 
Tompson,  Thomas,   18 
Torpedo-fish,  24 

Tructw>-n,  'Tilmann,  23  rt  seq.,  42;    epigram  and  epi- 
taph of,  25 
Trumpington,  78 
Truttwyn;  see  Tructwyn 
Tully,  43 

Tunbridge  Wells,  33 
Turin,  59 
Turkey,  58,  61  el  seq. 

Company,  57  et  seq. 

Tuscany,  Grand  Dukes  of;    see  Ferdinand  and  Cosimo 


Tuscany,  Princes  of;  see  Leopold  and  Mattias 

Universal  Medicine,  a,  8,  10 

Van  der  Broechius,  Adrian,  24,  42 

Van  Helmont,  Baron   Francis  Mercury,  10  et  seq.,  59, 

Jean  Baptiste,  1 1 

Van  Hoogstraaten,  S.,  21,  51 
Vani  Eflendi,  68 

Venice,  61 

V'ermaasen,  John,  35  et  seq. 

Vesalius,  13;   Anatomy  of,  79 

Veslingius,  13,  84 

Vesuvius,  41 

Virgil,  70 

Waller,  Richard,  23 
Walton,  Izaak,  4 
Ward,  63,  quoted  3,  73 
Whaddon,  Cambridgeshire,  i 
Whichcote,  Christopher,  48 

Doctor,  48 

Elizabeth;  see  Foxcroft,  Mrs 

Mary;  see  Worthington,  Mrs  Mary 

William  III,  44 

— -  IV,  52 
Williamson,  Secretary,  56 

Winchilsea,  second  Earl  of,  37,  42,  44  et  seq.,  47,  55  et 
seq.,  61 

tenth  Earl  of,  7,  83 

Windsor  Castle,  52 

Winter,  Sir  Edward,  48  et  seq. 

Wood,  Anthony,  quoted  2,  30  et  seq.,  44 

Worthington,  Dr  John,  9,  48,  quoted  31 

Mrs  Mar}',  48 

Mrs  Sarah,  9 

Wren,  Christopher,  32 

Wylde,  Captain  Charles,  journal  of,  58,  60 

Zaccarias,   Armenian  servant   of   Sir  Thomas    Baines, 

71  et  seq.,  81  et  seq. 
Zant  and  Zepbalonia,  enquiries  as  to  earthquakes   at, 

62 


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